MADISON, WI (WSAU) – A federal lawsuit asks a judge to declare local ‘stay at home’ orders across Wisconsin unconstitutional. A statewide order from Governor Tony Evers was struck down last week by the state Supreme Court. The suit, filed by 17 Wisconsin residents, argues that local and county orders are also illegal.
Dane County announced its own stay-at-home order that used the exact language of the statewide order just hours after the state’s highest court ruled. Milwaukee has also kept a highly restrictive stay-at-home order in place. Other counties enacted more lenient emergency ‘guidance’ without fines or criminal penalties.
The governor’s initial emergency order, enacted on March 21, expired after 60 days.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Milwaukee. The lawsuit asks that all local emergency orders be voided.
The court filing says: “Local orders unlawfully interfere with plaintiffs’ rights to work and to worship, to gather and assemble, in violation of their federal Constitutional rights.”
State Attorney General Josh Kaul issued an advisory opinion last week saying that local orders were legal.
