Judge John Lee testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to be U.S. Circuit judge for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
A federal trial judge up for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit was among the first judges to confront challenges to stay-at-home orders during the earliest days of the pandemic, and his ruling is fueling Republican criticism.
On Wednesday, GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed Judge John Lee on his May 2020 ruling in Cassell v. Snyders, in which he upheld Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order that limited religious gatherings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Seventh Circuit affirmed his decision.
