George Wallace, another governor who ignored the courts / Wikipedia Commons
Despite a second restraining order from a Wisconsin judge temporarily blocking implementation of the budget repair bill pending further litigation, the Scott Walker administration will continue acting as though the bill is law:
But outside the courtroom, Assistant Attorney General Steven Means said the legislation "absolutely" is still in effect.
The statement by Means - the executive assistant to Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen - shocked Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha).
"It's just startling that the attorney general believes you should not follow court orders anymore," he said.
In a later statement, Department of Justice spokesman Bill Cosh said: "We don't believe that the court can enjoin non-parties. Whether the Department of Administration or other state officers choose to comply with any direction issued by Judge Sumi is up to them."
Shorter Scott Walker administration: We're going to do whatever we want, no matter what the courts say.
This is the second time the Scott Walker administration has ignored a restraining order from this judge. Kind of makes you wonder why his administration even sent representatives to the courtroom at all, given that they obviously don't care what the judge says.
What happens now? Well, Judge Sumi had threatened some form of sanctions against any state officials who continue to act as though the bill is in effect, so perhaps we will find out what that entails. Last week, the Wisconsin Appeals Court asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule on the law, an eventuality Supreme Court Justice David Prosser believes has a "100 percent" chance of happening.
Basically, this is going to end up in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Given events so far, it's worth wondering if the Walker administration will stop implementing the bill even if the Supreme Court rules against them. Even so, please consider supporting the grassroots lobbying effort directed at Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.
For more discussion on this topic, please visit JackinStl's diary on the rec list.