In this file photo, members of the Amish community file into the Seneca County Courthouse last month for a state Supreme Court hearing on an Amish man’s lawsuit that sought to overturn New York’s new ban on religious exemptions that allowed unvaccinated children to attend school. Spencer Tulis / Finger Lakes Times WATERLOO — In a case related to an Amish family in Seneca County, State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Doyle has ruled against a Long Island attorney’s request to temporarily halt state legislation that removed religious exemptions for child vaccines. Attorney James Mermigis, who calls the legislation an affront to religious freedom, was highly critical of Doyle’s decision. He called it, among other things, “an atrocity.” The bill was passed by the Legislature in June following a measles outbreak downstate. Mermigis argued in state Supreme Court in Seneca County and in his court filings that the repeal is unconstitutional because it violates the Free Exercise Clause of the New York State Constitution. The Seneca County case is centered on unvaccinated children at Cranberry Marsh School — a private, Amish-run school in Romulus where plaintiff Jonas Stoltzfus’ three children attend. The father said they are not allowed to attend […]
