The Supreme Court left in place a nationwide eviction moratorium first imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year to protect renters during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Tuesday, a 5-4 majority of justices voted to deny an application to vacate a lower court stay, filed by the Alabama Association of Realtors on behalf of property owners, seeking to throw out the moratorium. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett would have granted the application.
BIDEN EXTENDS EVICTIONS MORATORIUM ONE MONTH
D.C. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich struck down the moratorium on May 5, ruling the CDC lacks the authority under federal law but ordered a stay on her ruling hours later after the Justice Department appealed. The Tuesday ruling by the high court denied the realtors’ effort to throw out Friedrich’s stay on her May 5 decision.
The moratorium, first enacted by the Trump administration in September and subsequently extended by the Biden administration, was extended through the end of July on Thursday by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who said the recent extension will be the final one.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a brief concurrence he agreed with the district court and applicants that the CDC exceeded its authority with the moratorium but said he voted with the other four justices because the moratorium will end on July 31. He also said he voted that way “because those few weeks will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds.”
