Headline: Wisconsin State Journal, 6/7/2022
In a 4-3 decision — with conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn siding with the court’s three liberal justices, Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet and Jill Karofsky — the court ruled against Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s largest business organization. WMC filed the lawsuit in October 2020 after Gov. Tony Evers and the state Department of Health Services announced plans that summer to release information pertaining to positive COVID-19 cases at businesses in order to comply with public records requests from media outlets.
“The issue is whether the public records law’s general prohibition on pre-release judicial review of decisions to provide access to public records bars WMC’s claims,” Dallet wrote for the majority. “We conclude that it does, and therefore affirm the court of appeals’ decision.”
7/11/2020 update, "Majority of Wisconsin Supreme Court justices do what they're paid to do (the sleazy saga continues)", starts here
Headline: Wisconsin State Journal
7/5/2020 update starts here
Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds lame-duck laws stripping power from governor, AG. (Capital Times, 7/9/2020)
December 2018 extraordinary session when lawmakers and outgoing Republican Gov. Scott Walker acted to increase the Legislature’s oversight of the administration by giving lawmakers the power to sign off on some court settlements, intervene in legal challenges to state laws, suspend administrative rules multiple times and more.
The state's top Democrats slammed the ruling and Republicans for championing the laws in the first place.
Original 5/14/2020 post starts here.
Meet the lapdogs of the Wisconsin GOP and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
The ruling immediately lifts all restrictions on businesses and gatherings imposed by the administration's order but keeps in place the closure of schools until fall. It comes after Evers had already begun lifting some restrictions because the spread of the virus has slowed for now.
Related reading:
WMC Gets Blowback On Supreme Court Hijacking. (Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 6/28/2008)
WMC, Greater Wisconsin Top Outside Spenders in High Court Race. (Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 3/30/2018)
Last-Minute Laws Took Democrats’ Power. Court Says That’s Fine. (The New York Times, 6/21/2019)
Wisconsin Supreme Court sides with Enbridge, WMC. (Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, 6/28/2019)
Top Wisconsin Court Sides With Republicans on ID Rules for Absentee Voters. (Courthouse News Service, 3/30/2020)
Pandemic power grab. (Isthmus, 5/6/2020)
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