Why Should Court End Mask Mandate, Judge Asks
Legislature has power to end Evers mandate, he notes, why should court usurp that right?

St. Croix County Judge Michael Waterman hears a challenge to Wisconsin’s mask mandate on Oct. 5, 2020. YouTube/Wisconsin Court System
A judge hearing the lawsuit over Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate repeatedly asked a lawyer for conservatives at a Monday hearing why he should block the mandate when the Legislature has decided not to.
“They could do it tomorrow if they wanted to,” said St. Croix County Judge Michael Waterman.
The lawsuit, which was brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) on behalf of three Wisconsin residents, argues that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers overstepped his authority when he issued and later extended a statewide mask mandate this year.
Evers has used the powers to declare three public health emergencies this year. The first came on March 12, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second, on July 30, led to the first mask mandate and came as COVID-19 cases were beginning to climb. And the third, on Sept. 22, extended the mask mandate as COVID-19 cases were surging on University of Wisconsin campuses.
WILL argued that because a governor’s public health emergency declaration “shall not exceed 60 days” unless it’s extended by the Legislature, Evers’ second and third public health declarations were invalid, and the court should strike them down.
“The pandemic that we had in July and September is the same one we had in March,” said WILL attorney Anthony LoCoco. “It’s the same essential public health problem: The spread of a novel virus.”
LoCoco said that for many people, wearing a mask may seem simple, smart and courteous, and they may not care that the government had ordered them to wear masks.
“But my clients do care,” LoCoco said. “They are aggrieved by this invasion of their liberty.”
But just as state lawmakers have the power to extend a governor’s emergency, they also have the power to revoke it.
“They’re asking the third branch of government — the judiciary — to step in and exercise a power that the Legislature reserved to itself,” said Judge Waterman. “The court is being asked to do that when the Legislature has apparently chosen for one reason or another not to act.”
Evers’ attorney, Assistant Attorney General Colin Hector, stressed that the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic now was worsening, making this a different emergency than the ones the state had dealt with at other points this year.
“The data here is screaming out that unfortunately, Wisconsin right now is in a very different and much worse situation than it has been,” Hector said.
Wisconsin’s recent COVID-19 numbers have been among the worst in the nation with a seven-day average of nearly 2,400 positive daily cases. In mid-May, that number was less than 300. The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 also hit an all-time high of 782 Monday.
Hector also stressed that the law Evers used to declare an emergency gave the Legislature the express power to end it.
“They have to take a political act,” Hector said. “It can’t possibly be the case that they can have the courts make that decision for them.”
Democrats have argued that Republicans won’t vote to rescind the mask mandate because it’s popular. In early August, 69 percent of registered voters surveyed by Marquette University favored a mask mandate compared to 29 percent who opposed it.
While the case is in his courtroom for now, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will likely have the final say on the mask mandate and the governor’s powers. What happens there is not yet clear.
While the court struck down “Safer at Home” in May, it had a 5-2 conservative majority at the time, a margin that has since been trimmed to 4-3.
That would put the focus squarely on conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn, who joined the court’s liberals in siding with the Evers administration earlier this year.
Judge Questions Need For Court To Rule On Mask Mandate was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Evers Proposes COVID-19 Child Care Aid - Laurel White - Mar 4th, 2021
- WI Daily: 677 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Mar 4th, 2021
- MKE County: COVID-19 No Longer Declining in Milwaukee - Graham Kilmer - Mar 4th, 2021
- COVID-19 Vaccine Assistance Hotline Now Available - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Mar 4th, 2021
- Gov. Evers, DCF Announce Plan to Support Early Care and Education Providers, Partners, and Wisconsin Families - Gov. Tony Evers - Mar 4th, 2021
- WI Daily: 539 New COVID-19 Cases - Urban Milwaukee - Mar 3rd, 2021
- City Aims To Vaccinate Every Educator In Two Weeks - Graham Kilmer - Mar 3rd, 2021
- NEW: Senator Johnson Plans to Delay COVID Relief Through Senate Stunt - Opportunity Wisconsin - Mar 3rd, 2021
- Evers Says Schools May Need Summer Classes - Shawn Johnson - Mar 3rd, 2021
- City Hires Private Firm To Track COVID-19 Violations - Graham Kilmer - Mar 3rd, 2021
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
More about the Statewide Mask Mandate
- Suit Asks State Supreme Court to Toss Mask Order - Erik Gunn - Feb 11th, 2021
- Op Ed: Why the War on Masks? Gerrymandering - Mel Barnes - Feb 7th, 2021
- Will Supreme Court Act on Mask Mandate? - Erik Gunn - Feb 6th, 2021
- Rep. Robyn Vining Supports Wearing Masks to Save Lives - State Rep. Robyn Vining - Feb 5th, 2021
- Rep. Rodriguez: Authors Legislation to Create Statewide Mask Order - State Rep. Sara Rodriguez - Feb 5th, 2021
- Democrats Take Action to Protect Public Health - State Sen. Jon Erpenbach - Feb 5th, 2021
- Rep. Bowen Statement on Senate Joint Resolution 3 and Executive Order #105 - State Rep. David Bowen - Feb 4th, 2021
- Republicans End Mask Mandate, Evers Puts It Back In Place - Jeramey Jannene - Feb 4th, 2021
- Rep. Robyn Vining Responds to Assembly Republicans’ Actions to Disregard the Lives and Livelihoods of Wisconsinites - State Rep. Robyn Vining - Feb 4th, 2021
- Gov. Evers Puts Public Health Before Politics, Signs New Public Health Emergency - Gov. Tony Evers - Feb 4th, 2021
Read more about Statewide Mask Mandate here
Conservatives are always comparing about activist judges who set public policy. Republicans who control the legislature choose not to meet to deal with this issue. So WILL is taking this case to court to look for an activist judge who will do what the Republican legislature chose not to do. This judge makes a very good point.
Obviously Scott Fitzgerald and Robin Vos, along with the other Republicans do not want to be held accountable. This is beyond being petty. Clearly they are ignoring the majority of the voters just as they are ignoring the majority of voters who want an end to gerrymandering. Again, they are no longer accountable to the voters, neither Democrat or Republican. Through gerrymandering they have effectively carved out the state in their favor so that they are only accountable to themselves. So, they won’t have to take responsibility for their irresponsible actions regarding wearing masks and they continue to offer nothing as an alternative while continuing to blame Gov. Evers and Democrats.
RE: Douglas Johnson : and yet the fools of this state continue to vote them into office.
I would not characterize all voters as ‘fools who continue to vote them into office’. Gerrymandering, by Republicans, has effectively carved their districts to minimize any democratic challenge. In effect no Democrat challenger will run in a mostly heavily gerrymandered Republican district because in most circumstances the odds of winning are stacked against them and given the cost of campaigns are extraordinarily huge. So, in essence we have a legislature that is stacked against Democrats and will remain so until an end to gerrymandering. It has been estimated that it would take a 57-58% turnout for Democrats above Republican turnout in order to flip a district. In counties such as Waukesha, Washington, Walworth, and others it may not be impossible, but at this time it is next to impossible. Currently the Republican legislature likes the ‘status quo’ in their favor while ignoring the majority of voters who want a change. The ‘fools’ you refer to may not fully understand the negative impact that gerrymandering has had on our state politics.