Federal Judge Steven Merryday has asked the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to send the Marine case, Colonel Financial Management Officer, et. al., v. Lloyd Austin, back to him now that the Department of Defense (DOD) COVID shot mandate has been rescinded.
"Once it is returned to his court, it looks to be, from his word, that he's going to dismiss the case," comments Daniel Schmid, senior litigation counsel for Liberty Counsel. "There's nothing left to do because the mandate has been rescinded. The injunctions protected our members throughout the entire course of litigation, and now that they've rescinded the mandate, it's a win for all intents and purposes. It just looks a little different."
And Schmid, whose law firm has been involved in litigation since the Biden Pentagon mandated that members of the U.S. armed forces, National Guard, and the Ready Reserves receive the COVID-19 shot, says the service branches themselves are also promising to reinstate those who were kicked out for refusing to take the shots because of religious concerns.
"We'll have to have to monitor it and see if they do what they're saying they're going to do, which is to put everybody back to where they were before this happened as if there were no mandate," the attorney notes. "If they don't, then we very well may end up right back in front of Judge Merryday. But at the moment, their administrative orders are suggesting that they're going to put everybody back, so we'll see if they follow through."
With the COVID shot mandate dead, Liberty Counsel will soon return to court to press their claim for attorneys' fees and costs.
