(Reuters) – A federal appeals court has delivered a new setback to the Biden administration in a COVID-19 dispute, keeping in place a lower court order that blocked the U.S. Navy from considering the vaccination status of 35 special forces personnel in making deployment decisions.
The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday night spurned arguments from the U.S. Justice Department that the Navy’s deployment decision-making was outside the scope of cases that the courts are allowed to consider and rule on.
The appeals panel said the judiciary had the power to weigh the plaintiffs’ religious freedom objections, including a “divine instruction not to receive the vaccine.”
“Defendants have not demonstrated ‘paramount interests’ that justify vaccinating these 35 plaintiffs against COVID-19 in violation of their religious beliefs,” Circuit Judges Edith Jones, Stuart Duncan and Kurt Engelhardt said in their unsigned 30-page ruling.
The Justice Department on Tuesday declined to comment. A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not immediately return a request for comment.
Deploying unvaccinated service members “jeopardizes missions,” the DOJ said. In court filings, the DOJ said the judiciary had made an “extraordinary intrusion into core military affairs.”
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit previously ruled against the Biden administration’s since-withdrawn COVID-19 vaccination mandate for large employers.
In another case, the court last month left in place an order blocking Biden from enforcing a vaccination rule for federal workers. The court also last month revived a legal challenge to a United Airlines vaccine mandate for workers.
In the Navy case, the court said as of Jan. 27, the Navy had discharged 45 sailors for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 99% of active-duty Navy Service members were vaccinated against COVID-19 as of November.
The Justice Department told the 5th Circuit it would not take disciplinary action against the plaintiffs during the appeal.
Two federal judges in Georgia and Florida last month blocked the same or similar vaccination policies. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., in November said a dispute in her court was outside the bounds of the judiciary to resolve. A Colorado federal judge also concluded a dispute was not for the courts to take up.
More than 950,000 COVID-related deaths have been reported in the U.S. since the pandemic began in 2020.
The case is U.S. Navy SEALs et al v. Biden, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-10077.
For plaintiffs: Heather Hacker of Hacker Stephens and Kelly Shackelford of First Liberty Institute
For defendant: Sarah Carroll and Lowell Sturgill Jr of the U.S. Justice Department
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