TAMPA, Fla. — In a blockbuster ruling last week, federal judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle struck down a requirement that people wear masks on public transportation including planes to limit the spread of COVID-19.
But that wasn’t the first time decisions in the fierce debate over pandemic safety regulations have come out Tampa’s federal courthouse.
In three separate cases, veteran U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday — who was nominated by President George H.W. Bush and has been on the bench since 1992 — weighed in on cruise ship regulations and vaccine mandates, ruling each time against the COVID-19 requirements.
