Montgomery, AL – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of states filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a constitutional challenge involving a California school district’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The case, Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. v. Carvalho, stems from a policy adopted in 2021 by the Los Angeles Unified School District that required employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. More than 500 employees were reportedly terminated after declining to comply with the mandate. The employees subsequently filed suit challenging the policy.
A federal district court dismissed the claims, and an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit later affirmed that dismissal. The multistate brief asks the Supreme Court to review the case and reconsider the Ninth Circuit’s ruling.
According to the states’ filing, Supreme Court review is needed to reaffirm what they describe as constitutional protections for an individual’s right to refuse medical treatment. The brief notes that while the Court has previously recognized a limited exception to that right—such as in a 1905 decision allowing local governments to require vaccination to curb the spread of smallpox—the states argue that exception should remain narrow.
The coalition contends the Ninth Circuit’s ruling improperly expands that exception by allowing government entities to mandate vaccination even in circumstances where it may not prevent the spread of disease. The brief argues that such a precedent could grant governments broad authority to require vaccines or other medical treatments against an individual’s will.
Marshall criticized California’s policy and the Ninth Circuit’s decision in a public statement, saying:
“California’s political theater of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for school employees is obviously unconstitutional. And the Ninth Circuit’s decision treats a very narrow exception for protecting public health as a green light for governments to impose unlawful medical policies across the board. This case is thus about drawing a clear line between legitimate public health measures and radical mandates that infringe on individual freedom. We urge the Supreme Court to take the case and reverse the Ninth Circuit’s decision.”
Alabama joined the brief led by Texas. Other states signing onto the filing include Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Utah.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet announced whether it will grant review in the case.
