The Michigan Supreme Court last week handed Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer a legal setback when it ruled against her authority to extend coronavirus mandates in the state without seeking approval by state lawmakers.
Whitmer called the decision “deeply disappointing” and pointed out that every state in the U.S. is under some form of a declared emergency. The Detroit Free Press reported the court’s split decision challenges dozens of her orders. The paper said the questions were brought by a federal judge and the next steps were unclear.
Judge Stephen Markman wrote in the opinion that the governor can declare a state of emergency for 28 days without the approval of the Legislature. He said if the Legislature doesn’t act after the 28 days, the emergency order is essentially null and void. Whitmer has clashed in the past with Republicans in the Legislature.
The majority wrote, in part, that “no individual in the history of this state has ever been vested with as much concentrated and standardless power to regulate the lives of our people.”
Patrick Wright, Vice President for Legal Affairs at the Mackinac Center, which brought the original lawsuit against Whitmer, said the court’s ruling voiced the 10 million Michiganders “by reaffirming the constitutional protections of checks and balances afforded through the separation of powers.”
The court ruled 4-3 and said Whitmer overreached on her authority to declare additional mandates after 30 April, the paper reported. The date marked the last time the Legislature approved the emergency declaration order.
“This virus continues to take lives of Americans every single day, and without a cure or approved vaccine, that will continue for the foreseeable future,” Whitmer said.
Robert Sedler, Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School, told the paper he believed the court’s ruling would be binding and have an impact on the current stay-at-home orders in the state.
Governor Whitmer has grown to national prominence over public feuds with President Trump, who once said she “doesn’t have a clue” about the coronavirus and how to deal with the economy.
“Michigan has already gained and regained more than half of the jobs that it lost – and if your state was ever allowed to safely reopen by your governor, who doesn’t have a clue, just like Joe [Biden], you would have gained far more than that,” Trump said earlier this month.
TREND FORECAST: As we have stated, with President Trump now having declared, “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life!” he will hit hard Democratic swing states such as Michigan with the message that their governor’s lockdowns destroyed people’s businesses, livelihood… and lives.
