(April 14, 2021 – Madison,
Wisconsin) The Wisconsin Supreme Court sided with
Pro-Life Wisconsin, represented by the Thomas More Society, in an April 14,
2021, ruling that the state does not have the authority to limit capacity on
businesses without the approval of Wisconsin’s lawmakers.
Pro-Life Wisconsin was among the organizations and
businesses whose rights were violated as Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s
administration evaded the legislative process to set arbitrary and
discriminatory rules under cover of COVID-19 prevention. The majority decision
in Tavern League of Wisconsin v. Andrea Palm and
Wisconsin Department of Health Services upheld a previous ruling
from the Court of Appeals that favored Pro-Life Wisconsin and the other
organizations and businesses in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed in response to an emergency order
issued in October 2020 that limited the number of people at indoor public
gatherings to 25 percent capacity. The order limited businesses without
capacity limits to 10 people. An injunction against the emergency order was
issued after the lawsuit by The Tavern League, which was joined by Pro-Life
Wisconsin and others, said that Palm illegally bypassed the state’s proper
rulemaking procedures.
Andrew Bath, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President
and General Counsel, responded to the decision, “The Wisconsin Supreme Court
has affirmed what we have said all along, that, under our constitutional system
of separation of powers, no branch of government is a rule unto itself. The
rights of Pro-Life Wisconsin and the other plaintiffs were violated when the
Evers Administration engaged in dictatorial rule rather than follow the law.
Those rights have been vindicated by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which today
declared the administration’s illegal order to be neither ‘valid’ nor
‘enforceable.’ We hail the court’s decision because the very notion of citizen
self-government was at stake in this case.”
Bath added, “The outrageous fact that the
Secretary-designee included a punishment of civil forfeiture of assets for
noncompliance with her excessive regulations shows that the move was more about
absolute power than disease prevention. As we have seen, the United States
Supreme Court continues to protect rights guaranteed by the federal
Constitution – even in a pandemic. We are pleased that the Wisconsin Supreme
Court has protected rights guaranteed by the state constitution and halted the
administration’s attempt to do an end run around the people’s representatives -
in violation of Wisconsin law.”
Dan Miller, State Director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, stated, “We thank the Wisconsin Supreme Court for its prudent, decisive, and common sense reading of the law as it was written. This rebuke of Governor Tony Evers' abuse of power is a win for the people of Wisconsin. Those who love liberty are forever indebted to the Thomas More Society for its tireless work on this case. This case was not just about how the executive branch overreached its power in the name of public health, but how a handful of citizens and constitutional law experts stood up to tyranny and won."
In March 2021, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the
governor’s statewide mask mandate, ruling that two of the governor’s executive
orders regarding masks were “unlawful” under Wisconsin state statutes.
Read the Supreme Court of Wisconsin order issued in Tavern
League of Wisconsin v. Andrea Palm and Wisconsin Department of Health
Services on April 14, 2021, on bypass from
the Court of Appeals, here [https://thomasmoresociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/PLW-v.-Palm-WI-Supreme-Court-Opinion-4-14-21.pdf]
About the Thomas More Society
The Thomas More Society is a national not-for-profit law firm dedicated to restoring respect in law for life, family, and religious liberty. Headquartered in Chicago, Omaha, Rancho Santa Fe, California, and Fairfield, NJ, the Thomas More Society fosters support for these causes by providing high quality pro bono legal services from local trial courts all the way up to the United States Supreme Court. For more information, visit thomasmoresociety.org
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