Governor gets legal win in shutdown
Judge in Michigan backs use of 1945 law
DETROIT — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer prevailed Thursday in a challenge by Republican lawmakers who sued over her authority to declare emergencies and order restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak.
A 1945 law cited by Whitmer, a Democrat, is not limited to regional emergencies and can have no end date, Judge Cynthia Stephens of the Court of Claims said.
The opinion effectively means the governor’s orders stand, including a stay-home decree that is likely to be extended beyond May 28.
The lawsuit from the House and Senate grew out of frustration with Whitmer’s one-size strategy to stop the spread of the coronavirus by keeping people at home statewide and shutting down businesses, even if regions far from the Detroit area were not harmed as much by the virus or COVID-19.
Tension between the governor and Republicans also has been fueled by her status as a possible running mate for presidential candidate Joe Biden and anti-whitmer demonstrations. Barbers and hair stylists, out of work because of virus restrictions, gave free haircuts Wednesday at the Capitol to highlight their resentment.
The Legislature did not extend Whitmer’s emergency declaration in late April, but she acted anyway, covering her bases by using the 1945 law and a 1976 statute.
The Legislature said Whitmer violated the 1976 law, which says lawmakers get a role in emergency declarations after 28 days. The judge said the governor can’t use that law to extend emergencies without input from lawmakers. But Whitmer won the case anyway.
Whitmer on Thursday further relaxed stay-at-home restrictions, saying that a ban on nonessential health procedures would be lifted next week and that groups of up to 10 people can gather immediately ahead of the Memorial Day weekend.
The stay-home order, which remains in effect through May 28, probably will be extended, Whitmer said. In other developments:
Some casinos in Mississippi reopened Thursday for the first time in two months, following state guidelines to try to mitigate the spread of the new coronavirus.
A Texas Supreme Court justice said Thursday that she and her husband have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, making her the highest-ranking state official known to have tested positive for COVID-19.
Business owners, candidates for office, a pastor and one of the organizers of last month’s “Reopen Wisconsin” protest at the Wisconsin Capitol have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that local stay-at-home orders are unconstitutional.
Authorities said eight people were arrested Thursday at a demonstration in Southern California against the state’s orders limiting activities because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In New York, summer school students will not be reporting to the classroom. New York City will deliver 1 million meals a day to fight hunger during the outbreak. And state labor officials hit with a flood of unemployment applications said they’re working through the backlog.
The Archdiocese of New York on Thursday released a plan for a phased-in reopening during the coronavirus pandemic, using protocols developed with the advice of medical professionals to help safeguard worshippers.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot threw cold water on hopes that the city’s restaurants might resume outdoor service later this month, a day after the governor said such service would be allowed under certain conditions as of May 29.
Puerto Rico will cautiously reopen beaches, restaurants, churches, hair salons and retail stores next week under new rules as the U.S. territory emerges from a two-month lockdown.