Opinion ID: 6350080
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Voluntary Cessation Exception

Text: The Supreme Court has long held that “a defendant cannot automatically moot a case simply by ending its unlawful conduct once sued.” Already, 568 U.S. at 91. But this doctrine, which “traces to the principle that a party should not be able to evade judicial review, or to defeat a 3 See Eden, LLC v. Justice, __ F.4th __, No. 21-1079, 2022 WL 1790282 (4th Cir. June 2, 2022) (concluding challenge to early pandemic COVID-19 restriction was moot in light of changed circumstances); Resurrection Sch. v. Hertel, __ F.4th __, No. 20-2256, 2022 WL 1656719 (6th Cir. May 25, 2022) (en banc) (same); Lighthouse Fellowship Church v. Northam, 20 F.4th 157, 162–66 (4th Cir. 2021) (same); Bos. Bit Labs, Inc. v. Baker, 11 F.4th 3, 8–12 (1st Cir. 2021) (same); County of Butler v. Governor of Pa., 8 F.4th 226, 230–31 (3rd Cir. 2021) (same), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 772 (2022); Hawse v. Page, 7 F.4th 685, 692–94 (8th Cir. 2021) (same); Conn. Citizens Def. League, Inc. v. Lamont, 6 F.4th 439, 448 (2d Cir. 2021) (same). But see Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church v. Pritzker, 22 F.4th 701, 702