Just In: Judge in Wisconsin blocks Walker’s Union Busting Bill

A Wisconsin Judge in Dane County has issued a restraining order to block enforcement of  the Republican effort to end the collective bargaining rights of the state’s public workers.   The judge has ruled that the way the law was pushed through possibly violated the state’s open meetings laws.  She has stopped the enactment of the law until she reviews the merits of the case in terms of the process that was used to pass it.

Judge Maryann Sumi issued the order to temporarily block the law as Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne had requested as part of his lawsuit.She said the order will stop publication until further order of the court. Sumi said that while the order blocks the law’s publication, she said she has no authority to prevent the Legislature from voting on the bill again.The state Department of Justice asked for a stay of the order, but the judge denied the request.The judge said she wasn’t weighing the merits of the law in issuing the order.”What I want to make clear is I make no judgments on merit of legislation,” she said.She said that instead, she was interpreting the state’s open meetings law.

This action prevents the state’s Secretary of State from recording the law.

Sumi’s order will prevent Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law until she can rule on the merits of the case. Dane County Ismael Ozanne is seeking to block the law because he says a legislative committee violated the state’s open meetings law.

Sumi said Ozanne was likely to succeed on the merits.

“It seems to me the public policy behind effective enforcement of the open meeting  law is so strong that it does outweigh the interest, at least at this time, which may exist in favor of sustaining the validity of the (law),” she said.

The judge’s finding – at least for now – is a setback to Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a victory for opponents, who have spent weeks in the Capitol to protest the bill.

Asst. Atty. Gen Steven Means, who was part of the state’s legal team, said after the ruling that “we disagree with it.”

“And the reason they have appellate courts is because circuit court judges make errors and they have in this case.”

Means said the state would “entertain an appeal.”

“If the Legislature decides to go back and re-act on these provisions, they have the right to do that. And we will see what happens,” he said.

Means said he had no idea what the Legislature might do.