Wisconsin Supreme Court says Governor Evers overstepped emergency powers during pandemic

MADISON, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that Governor Evers exceeded his emergency powers by issuing multiple emergency orders for the same pandemic. The 4-3 decision, with the majority opinion written by Judge Brian Hagedorn, comes months after the court first heard oral argument.

The ruling cancels the current mask’s mandate which will expire on Monday, ruling that multiple emergency orders based on the same pandemic are illegal.

“The question in this case is not whether the governor acted wisely; it is if he acted legally. We conclude not, ”wrote Judge Brian Hagedorn in the majority opinion.

Governor Evers issued his first emergency order in March to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and has issued several orders since, forming the basis for additional orders like the current mask warrant. State law allows a single state of emergency to continue for 60 days, unless the legislature extends it; the main argument of the case is that, because the pandemic has not changed, therefore several emergency orders related to the same emergency are invalid.

The governor’s legal adviser had argued in the High Court that whether he could declare an emergency order was a matter for the executive and legislative branches of government, not the judiciary. Additionally, Governor Evers argued that Wisconsin law allowed him to issue separate emergency orders based on different and evolving emergencies arising from the same underlying cause – in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic. .

“This is not an ordinary case. We are at the heart of a global pandemic that has so far claimed the lives of more than half a million people in this country. And with the stakes so high, the majority not only come to the wrong conclusions, but it also masks the consequences of their decision, ”Judge Ann Bradley wrote in a dissenting opinion.

The court granted initial jurisdiction to the case in October, meaning the trial bypassed lower courts and began in the state’s highest court. Judges heard oral arguments on the case in mid-November; at the time, Conservative-backed Judge Brian Hagedorn, who has proven a shaky vote in several recent cases, siding with liberal-backed judges in election lawsuits, seemed skeptical of the governor’s interpretation of the emergency authority. The court is tightly controlled on a 4-3 margin by conservative judges.

The decision does not affect orders issued by local public health officials, such as those demanding masks and limits on commercial capacity in counties like Dane.

Earlier this year, the Republican-controlled legislature voted to remove the mask mandate and the underlying emergency order; Evers quickly released a new one.

Fabick v. Evers is brought by Jere Fabick, a Republican businessman and political donor from Wisconsin who is also pursuing a Supreme Court case against the Wisconsin Election Commission and other election officials following the president’s victory Joe Biden in the State. He also filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court in May against Andrea Palm and the Department of Health Services over the Safer at Home order, which was dismissed after the court decided to overturn it in a separate case. .

This coverage will be updated

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