The Free Minnesota Small Business Coalition and several small business owners have petitioned the Minnesota Court of Appeals for an order declaring a number of Governor Walz’s COVID-19 executive orders unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. The petitioners maintain that the governor’s orders (Executive Order Nos. 20-20, 20-33, 20-38 and 20-40) fail to distinguish between classes of businesses (i.e. "Critical" and "Non-Critical") in an adequate manner and therefore should be declared invalid. They contend that the governor has arbitrarily and unconstitutionally shut down some businesses — but not others — without adequately explaining the public health rationale for the decisions.
You can read the petition here: https://freeminnesota.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Petition-for-Declaratory-Judgment-Appelalte-Court-4-29-20.pdf
HKM will continue to monitor this and other COVID-19 legal developments.