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(WWJ) Michigan's Supreme Court ruled Friday that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer exceeded her authority with a variety of executive orders aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus and can no longer extend the state of emergency that has shuttered bars, offices and venues across the state.
The court ruled such a state is meant to last 28 days, not months.
So, what's next? WWJ's Tim Skubick reports the governor isn't going to let it go quietly.
"It's not over 'til it's over and the governor says it's not over even though she lost big time at the state Supreme Court," WWJ's Tim Skubick reported.
Whitmer believes there's a 21-day clock where everything she put into effect stays there, Skubick said. Republicans don't agree, but they won't fight it in court.
After that, the governor may move unilaterally through the Department of Health and Human Services to reinstitute some of the orders, which, Skubick said, "means we may have another battle over that authority."
Overall, the battle over coronavirus orders is a long way from being over, Skubick said.
In the meantime, all of the governor's orders about gyms and bars, hair salons, offices and stadiums stay in effect, he said. Whitmer added her orders will retain the “force of law” for 21 more days. How is that? MLIVE reports a spokesperson for her office said this timeline stems from a Supreme Court rule that puts all decisions into effect in that time period.
By the end of 21 days, the governor is supposed to sit down with the Republican leaders in the legislature and work out a plan that all can agree on, although "so far, to say the least, they're not there yet," Skubick said.
The sudden change on Friday left local communities struggling to take swift action to protect the public.
The Oakland County Health Department issued Order 2020-12 that requires wearing masks or facial coverings in Oakland County in public or anyplace outside of homes. Macomb County's Mark Hackel said while officials will not enforce the mask order, they will encourage people to wear them to stop the spread of COVID.
“Health and science experts agree that facial coverings are critical to controlling the virus,” Oakland County Executive David Coulter said in a press release. “We have come too far to backslide now especially as we want to get kids back to school and our economy moving again.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel said, per the court order, her office will no longer enforce the governor's executive orders through criminal prosecution.
"However, her decision is not binding on other law enforcement agencies or state departments with independent enforcement authority," said Ryan Jarvi, a spokesman for Nessel's office.
In a statement, Gov. Whitmer, a lawyer by trade, called the ruling “deeply disappointing” and said she “vehemently disagreed with the court’s interpretation of the Michigan Constitution.”
Whitmer said some of the orders she put in place will remain in effect past 21 days under “alternative sources of authority that were not at issue in the ruling.” She has issued and signed over 180 Executive Orders since the start of the pandemic.
See the complete list of executive orders HERE.
Whether they still apply is murky legally, and attorney Katherine Henry, who has fought the order in court, says decisively it's over for the governor's orders.
"That means burn your masks right now if you didn't already," Henry told FOX 2. "Open your gym, and movie theatre and open whatever business you have. Go on and frequent whatever business you would like to go to, if you have a church that's limited your services because of how you're reading the EOs, forget that. All of those executive orders, based on COVID-19 circumstances, from 2020, they're out, they're gone, they're done," Henry said.