Michigan Barber Karl Manke opened his shop in defiance of Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decree. She rewarded this by sending six officers to shut him down, pulling his license and fining him. Manke appealed to the State Supreme Court, which unanimously sided with Manke.
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“It is incumbent on the courts to ensure decisions are made according to the rule of law, not hysteria,” Justice David F. Viviano wrote Friday, MLive.com reported. The court’s 7-0 decision vacated a lower court order that upheld the state’s attempt to close the Owosso, Michigan shop.
The Court said that Manke has a right to work, and while it is immaterial at this point (Whitmer is reopening later this week), it could have long-ranging effects. And not just over the matter of Manke’s fines and lost license. Any future political response will need to consider the Courts unanimous decision.
If Karl Manke has a right to work, so does everyone else in the state. If or how Gov. Whitmer plans to address any future reports of “spiking” COVID-19 infections will turn on this reality, or she’ll be broadsided with lawsuits before the ink dries on any new Emergency Orders. A problem not limited to Michigan.
Here in New Hampshire, there are court cases pending that relate to not just the scope of power that past legislature has handed to the Governor when they declare an emergency but whether the Legislature has the authority to grant it.
It’s a long stretch, but if there is no Constitutional provision for turning the Governor into a King every time they cry emergency, existing law will need to be revisited.
As far as we’re concerned whether the Court can find a path to that decision or not (I’m doubtful), RSAs 4:45 and 4:47 need some lite editing, by which we mean to burn them to ash and start over.
Start with a two-week max on any original EO that then requires the Governor to make a case to the Legislature for every extension. And that sounds great, but even if we had that in the current circumstances, our existing Legislature would still have us all in lockdown.
In other words, people of New Hampshire, come November, we need a new Legislature and not just a Republican majority. We need reliable pro-liberty, pro-free market candidates. Folks who will begin with reviewing the Emergency Powers and proceed through the very long list of excessive regulations and licensing requirements that get in the way of competition, innovation, and in the case of emergencies, require a pile of Emergency orders to get around them.
