Attorney blasts judge’s decision in Seneca County vaccine case

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 the school now without the required vaccinations, which he said violates his religious beliefs.