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by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
Reason.com
Courts in Michigan and Wisconsin rule on governors’ emergency orders. In Wisconsin, a circuit court upheld a statewide face-mask mandate and other public health emergency orders from Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat. Meanwhile, the Michigan Supreme Court again ruled against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s April 30 executive order instituting various coronavirus containment measures—but subsequent Whitmer orders to the same effect make the decision meaningless in practice.
Having already ruled on October 2 that Whitmer’s orders were unconstitutional, the Michigan Supreme Court yesterday rejected her plea to let the orders play out a little longer anyway. Whitmer’s office had asked last week for more time to ensure “an orderly transition during which some responsive measures can be placed under alternative executive authority and the Governor and Legislature can work to address many other pandemic-related matters.”