Saying he lacked the authority to second-guess Gov. Ron DeSantis, a circuit judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force the governor to close beaches throughout Florida.

Santa Rosa Beach lawyer Daniel Uhlfelder filed the lawsuit against DeSantis late last month, arguing that the governor’s refusal to issue a statewide mandate shutting down beaches puts Floridians at risk of becoming infected with COVID-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.