Wisconsin officials fear right-wing judges will nullify coronavirus orders — and prepare contingency plans

The same right-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court justices who blocked efforts by Gov. Tony Evers to move the presidential primary to a safer date now look poised to strike down the state's stay-at-home order altogether.


At oral argument, they did not hide their political feelings — Justice Rebecca Bradley called the order "tyranny" and compared it to Japanese internment camps, and Chief Justice Patience Roggensack dismissed a local outbreak because it was just affecting workers at a meatpacking plant and not "regular folks."

According to News8000, with the stay-at-home order all but doomed, some local officials are now forced to think about what they might be able to do on their own.

“We rely on the people who have the expertise and the knowledge to be able to help guide us and establish those types of orders,” said Tim Kabat, the mayor of La Crosse.

As for what he might do when the court strikes down the order, he said, "We would still be able to do some things with our own city facilities … trying to reduce exposure and prevent the spread of the coronavirus."