Here & Now

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Extension Lawsuit

Frederica Freyberg:

This week Wisconsin’s Supreme Court entered the battle between Republicans and Democrats in the COVID-19 pandemic. At issue, whether Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm exceeded her authority and violated state law by ordering an emergency extension of “Safer at Home.” Those opposed to that extension say it has wrecked the state’s economy. Those in favor counter that Wisconsin’s coronavirus infection rate and the number of deaths will soar should the order be lifted.

Colin Roth:

In the midst of the deadliest pandemic the world has faced in over a century, the Legislature asks this court to handcuff DHS’s power to combat infectious disease.

Rebecca Bradley:

I’ll direct your attention to another time in history and the Korematsu Decision, where the court said the need for action was great and time was short and that justified, and I’m quoting, “assembling together and placing under guard all those of Japanese ancestry in assembly centers during World War II.”

Annette Ziegler:

Part of the problem we have is we may personally think things make sense, but we have to apply Constitutional principles and the language of the statute and the law to figure out whether it actually does make sense.

Colin Roth:

You’ve got to look very closely and not issue a decision that’s too broad because people will die if this order is enjoined with nothing to replace it. That is exactly what will happen.