Wisconsin Supreme Court overrides governor’s stay-at-home order

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) stay-at-home order put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The court’s decision to overrule the order forces Evers to work with the Republican-controlled state Legislature on an alternate plan.

The 4-3 decision was written by four of the court’s conservatives, Chief Justice Patience Roggensack and Justices Rebecca Bradley, Daniel Kelly and Annette Ziegler. A fifth conservative, Brian Hagedorn, joining the court’s two liberals, Ann Walsh Gradley and Rebecca Dallet, in dissenting, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. 

Republican lawmakers had brought the suit against Evers over the stay-at-home order. 

The court’s decision requires Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm and Evers to use a process known as rulemaking, which permits a committee to have veto power over a plan the health department puts forward. 

An official with Evers’s office was not immediately available for comment. 

Evers has started lifting restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. On Monday, Evers announced retail shopping in standalone locations or strip malls could open allowing for five customers at time. He also allowed drive-in movie theaters to open. 

Wisconsin confirmed a total of 10,902 COVID-19 cases and 421 deaths as of Wednesday.