Court Upholds Evers Mask Mandate

Wisconsin’s statewide mask mandate remains in place after a St. Croix County judge rejected an effort by conservatives to block it.

In a brief ruling Monday, Judge Michael Waterman denied a request for a temporary injunction in a lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL).

Waterman said he was reluctant to step in as a member of the judiciary when the Legislature has the power to overturn the mask mandate, and it hasn’t done so.

“If the legislature is unconvinced that a state of emergency does exist, the legislature has the ultimate power to terminate it,” Waterman wrote.

Gov. Tony Evers issued the statewide mask mandate using powers that are given to governors to declare 60-day statewide public health emergencies.

It was the third time Evers has used the powers this year, something WILL argued the law did not allow.

Waterman disagreed.

“Nothing in the statute prohibits the governor from declaring successive states of emergency,” Waterman wrote.

Republicans could appeal the ruling.

Evers issued the latest order Sept. 22, citing an increase in COVID-19 cases across the state, and it lasts until Nov. 21.

Court Upholds Evers Administration’s Statewide Mask Mandate was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.