Steven Douglas Merryday | |
---|---|
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida | |
In office August 1, 2015 –November 1, 2020 | |
Preceded by | Anne C. Conway |
Succeeded by | Timothy J. Corrigan |
Judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida | |
Assumed office February 10,1992 | |
Appointed by | George H. W. Bush |
Preceded by | Seat established by 104 Stat. 5089 |
Personal details | |
Born | Palatka,Florida,U.S. | November 2,1950
Education | University of Florida (BA,JD) |
Steven Douglas Merryday (born November 2,1950) [1] is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
During the COVID-19 pandemic,Merryday issued rulings that blocked the CDC from enforcing its public health rules regarding cruise ship operations and blocked the Navy from removing an insubordinate commander of a $1.8 billion warship who refused to comply with COVID-19 precautions and exposed others to COVID-19 while experiencing symptoms.
Merryday was born in Palatka,Florida. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree as valedictorian from the University of Florida in 1972 and with a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida College of Law in 1975. As a law student,Merryday served as student body president of the University of Florida. Merryday was in private practice in Tampa,Florida from 1975 to 1992. [2]
President George H. W. Bush nominated Merryday to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida on September 23,1991,to a new seat created by 104 Stat. 5089. Confirmed by the Senate on February 6,1992,and received his commission on February 10,1992. [2] He served as Chief Judge from August 1,2015,to November 1,2020. [3]
On June 18,2021,he ruled against the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) rules on cruise ships safety measures;saying,"[T]he agency’s conditional sail order—(a framework of regulations dictating how cruises can restart in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic)—"can remain in place for Florida cruises only until July 18",thereby granting Governor Ron DeSantis' request for a preliminary injunction while the full case moves forward. Although he also noted in his ruling "After July 18,the rules will turn into non-binding recommendations for cruise companies. The CDC has until July 2 to propose a more limited set of cruise regulations to the court." Thus giving the CDC some time to either appeal his ruling by The United States Department of Justice or provide more narrow rules as stated in his decision. [4] [5]
In turn,Merryday's opinion was temporarily blocked on July 17 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. This allowed the CDC to continue to implement safety protocols on the cruise industry. [6] The Court of Appeals vacated the stay a few days later allowing Merryday's ruling to take effect. [7]
In 2022,Merryday blocked the Navy from removing the commander of a $1.8 billion warship. The commander refused to get vaccinated,thus failing to comply with Navy policy. The refusal to get vaccinated would prevent the warship from going to port in countries with vaccine requirements. Merryday forced the Navy to retain the commander. As a consequence,the $1.8 billion warship was kept in port. The commander engaged in other forms of insubordination and deception,which included refusing to get tested for COVID while experiencing symptoms,exposing others to COVID while having symptoms,and traveling to high-risk areas without disclosing it. Navy vice admiral Daniel W. Dwyer characterized the commander as a "manifest national security concern... It is untenable that a subordinate commander may choose to disregard,modify,or half-heartedly execute a senior officer’s orders due to his or her personal beliefs... [this insubordination] degrades mission effectiveness and the ability of the strike group to perform its mission in the interest of U.S. national security." [8]
Carnival Valor is a post-Panamax Conquest-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line. The vessel was built by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone shipyard in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. She was floated out on March 27,2004,and christened by American journalist Katie Couric in Miami on December 17,2004.
Bump stocks or bump fire stocks are gun stocks that can be used to assist in bump firing,the act of using the recoil of a semi-automatic firearm to fire cartridges in rapid succession.
Stanley Marcus is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
David Norman Hurd is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York.
Reed Charles O'Connor is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2007.
Robert Lewis Hinkle is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Mark Eaton Walker is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Jon Steven Tigar is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was previously a California state court judge on the Alameda County Superior Court from 2002 to 2013.
Terry Alvin Doughty is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. He served as a judge on the Fifth Judicial District Court in Louisiana from 2009 to 2018.
Florida Amendment 4,also the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative,is an amendment to the constitution of the U.S. state of Florida passed by ballot initiative on November 6,2018,as part of the 2018 Florida elections. The proposition restored the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation. The amendment does not apply to Floridians convicted of murder or sexual offenses.
Ashley Brooke Moody is an American attorney and politician serving as the attorney general of Florida since January 2019. Moody previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney and a circuit court judge in Hillsborough County.
Vaccination policy of the United States is the subset of U.S. federal health policy that deals with immunization against infectious disease. It is decided at various levels of the government,including the individual states. This policy has been developed over the approximately two centuries since the invention of vaccination with the purpose of eradicating disease from the U.S. population,or creating a herd immunity. Policies intended to encourage vaccination impact numerous areas of law,including regulation of vaccine safety,funding of vaccination programs,vaccine mandates,adverse event reporting requirements,and compensation for injuries asserted to be associated with vaccination.
On March 1,2020,the U.S. state of Florida officially reported its first two COVID-19 cases in Manatee and Hillsborough counties. There is evidence,however,that community spread of COVID-19 first began in Florida much earlier,perhaps as early as the first week of January,with as many as 171 people in Florida who had shown symptoms now identified with COVID-19,prior to receiving confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By March 11,the CDC saw evidence to conclude that community spread of the virus had occurred within the state.
Kathryn Kimball Mizelle is an American lawyer serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. At age 33,she was the youngest person chosen by President Donald Trump for a lifetime judicial appointment.
A Title 42 expulsion is the removal by the U.S. government of a person who had recently been in a country where a communicable disease was present. The extent of authority for contagion-related expulsions is set out by law in 42 U.S.C. § 265. During the COVID-19 pandemic,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Trump administration used this provision to generally block land entry for many migrants. This practice was initially continued by the Biden administration before the program was terminated with the end of the COVID-19 national emergency on May 12,2023. Title 42 of the United States Code includes numerous sections dealing with public health,social welfare,and civil rights,but,in the context of immigration,the phrase "Title 42" came to be used to refer specifically to expulsions under section 265.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States is the sociocultural phenomenon of individuals refusing or displaying hesitance towards receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States can be considered as part of the broader history of vaccine hesitancy.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic,COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been enacted by numerous states and municipalities in the United States,and also by private entities. In September 2021,President Joe Biden announced that the federal government would take steps to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for certain entities under the authority of the federal government or federal agencies. Most federal mandates thus imposed were either overturned through litigation,or withdrawn by the administration,although a mandate on health care workers in institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds was upheld. All federal mandates were lifted when the national emergency was declared to have ended in May 2023. A small number of states have gone in the opposite direction,through executive orders or legislation designed to limit vaccination mandates.
The Biden administration COVID-19 action plan,also called the Path out of the Pandemic,is a substantial increase in the use of vaccination mandates as part of the U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic announced by President Joe Biden on September 9,2021,to be carried out by officials in the Biden administration. The plan included various announced prospective efforts,as well as the issuance of several executive orders.
Joseph Abiodun Ladapo is a Nigerian-American doctor serving as the surgeon general of Florida since 2021. He is best known for his opposition to COVID-19 mitigation measures,and promotion of COVID-19 misinformation,for which he has been rebuked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ladapo has promoted unproven treatments,opposed vaccine and mask mandates,questioned the safety of COVID-19 vaccines,and contradicted professional medical organizations.
National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor,Occupational Safety and Health Administration,595 U.S. ___ (2022),is a Supreme Court of the United States case before the Court on an application for a stay of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's COVID-19 vaccination or test mandate. On January 13,2022,the Supreme Court ordered a stay of the mandate.