Texas judge upholds El Paso business shut down

El Paso (WBAP/KLIF) – A Texas district judge has upheld temporary business shutdowns in El Paso County. Judge Bill Moody ruled that restrictions that closed El Paso restaurants and other businesses deemed nonessential could stay in place. The county’s top elected official, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, ordered a two-week shutdown of nonessential activities late last week. In making his decision, Judge Moody said that during the Spanish flu pandemic in the early part of the 20th century, city and county elected officials had authority to respond. Chris Hilton, an attorney with the Texas attorney general’s office, says the state will appeal.