TexasCHLforum.com

swilkes wrote: ↑Sat Jul 04, 2020 6:11 am So is this mask thing policy or law? Is if a felony or a misdemeanor? If it is just policy do I really have to id if I am doing nothing illegal?

The governor is relying on chapter 418 of the Texas Government Code, which governs disasters. Under section 418.012, the governor, during a disaster, “may issue executive orders, proclamations, and regulations” which “have the force and effect of law.” Under 418.173, the governor may make violation of an “emergency management plan” or an order under the plan an offense with a penalty up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, which would be a misdemeanor.

So the answer according to the governor is the mask order is law and violation of it is a misdemeanor. However, I question whether the order is within the scope of the governor’s powers under Chapter 418 and whether the mask order is an “emergency management plan.” I also question its constitutionality: for one, I think it violates due process because it is unconstitutionally vague.

Where businesses require masks, I honor that requirement when I go in. But the result is that I don't go inside businesses unless I absolutely must.

But wearing one outside is completely pointless and I refuse to do it. And I have no idea what "an outdoor public space, wherever it is not feasible to maintain six feet of social distancing from another person not in the same household" is supposed to mean. And I'm a lawyer.

So I don't plan on wearing masks outside. In the unlikely event an officer actually writes me a ticket, I intend to plead not guilty and take the case to trial. Perhaps they forgot that, in Texas, we have a right to a jury trial even for fine-only misdemeanors. So I hope they've considered that, in order to fine someone who isn't wearing a mask, they may need to stick at least 12 citizens in a room for jury selection (assuming these are tried in JP or municipal court).

As a very liberal mediator suggested to me recently that the only people who are going to show up for jury duty any time soon are the people who, in his words, "don't believe in Covid." I don't know if I agree with that, but I do think the people who are most freaked out about coronavirus are likely to find an excuse not to show up. I suspect the jury panel won't be populated with too many people who are super-animated about mask wearing.