Step Aside Governor, you are not dictator that can collapse Constitutional rights from you cushy Ivory Tower
Note: Gov Whitmer is very fond of using executive orders declaring emergencies, as she had done four times before March
Statement from Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband and Michigan U.S. Attorneys on Michigan Supreme Court Ruling Striking Down Governor Whitmer’s Pandemic-Related Orders
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Eric Dreiband, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider for the Eastern District of Michigan, and U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge for the Western District of Michigan issued the following statements:
“Today’s decision by the Michigan Supreme Court is a victory for all Michiganders and the rule of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division. “The United States Constitution guarantees a republican form of government to every state in our free country. The Constitution does not permit any public official unlawfully to restrict our liberty. All public officials must respect the right of the people to govern themselves at all times, especially during a crisis.”
“On June 23, we wrote to Governor Whitmer and urged her to work cooperatively with the Michigan Legislature to reopen Michigan safely and address the multitude of concerns that Michiganders have had about the restrictions on their liberties,” said United States Attorney Matthew Schneider. “The best solutions for preserving our liberties and keeping us safe involve listening to the people of Michigan, and this decision by the Michigan Supreme Court upholding the rule of law now allows that to happen.”
“While the Governor has had the public’s health interests at heart, this decision underscores the importance of a legislature to the legitimacy of restrictions on liberty,” said United States Attorney Andrew Birge. “I urge the Governor and Michigan legislators to work together going forward in responding to this pandemic so that we stay safe and free.”
Background
On June 23, 2020, Assistant Attorney General Dreiband, U.S. Attorney Schneider, and Birge wrote to Governor Whitmer to express their concerns about the Governor’s restrictions on the civil rights and liberties of the People of Michigan as part of her response to the COVID-19 pandemic: “We write in the spirit of constructive cooperation to suggest greater cooperation with the Michigan legislature. Michiganders have raised numerous good-faith concerns about the orders you have issued—about whether they are authorized under state law, infringe on constitutional rights, or draw arbitrary and irrational distinctions among authorized and unauthorized economic activities. Working with the state legislature to reopen Michigan safely will relieve the public of concerns about the EMA and ensure greater representation of the people in matters that have serious consequences for their liberty. Such cooperation may also help identify any potential constitutional concerns with existing and any future orders. Further, and perhaps most importantly, working with the state legislature will affirm that Michigan and its public officials remain committed to the ‘Republican Form of Government’ mandated by the United States Constitution. U.S. Const., Art. IV, §4.”
On May 29, 2020, the Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in a Michigan federal court in support of a lawsuit filed by seven businesses challenging the restrictions imposed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That statement of interest explained that the governor’s COVID-19 orders, however well-intentioned, raised constitutional concerns by imposing what appeared to be arbitrary and unreasonable limits on how and ultimately whether certain businesses could operate in Michigan relative to other similarly situated businesses. The statement of interest also explained that the federal Constitution provides for a cohesive national economy for all 50 states and all Americans and that the governor’s COVID-19 orders may be unduly interfering with interstate commerce.
Matthew Schneider, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Assistant Attorney General Dreiband, are overseeing the Justice Department’s effort to monitor state and local policies relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The federal case is Signature Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc., et al. v. Whitmer, No. 1:20-00360 and additional information about the department’s May 29 statement of interest can be found here:
EMERGENCY POWERS OF GOVERNOR (EXCERPT)
Act 302 of 1945, on which Whitmer relied on in part.
10.31 Proclamation of state of emergency; promulgation of orders, rules, and regulations; seizure of firearms, ammunition, or other weapons.
Sec. 1. (1) During times of great public crisis, disaster, rioting, catastrophe, or similar public emergency within the state, or reasonable apprehension of immediate danger of a public emergency of that kind, when public safety is imperiled, either upon application of the mayor of a city, sheriff of a county, or the commissioner of the Michigan state police or upon his or her own volition, the governor may proclaim a state of emergencyand designate the area involved. After making the proclamation or declaration, the governor may promulgate reasonable orders, rules, and regulations as he or she considers necessary to protect life and property or to bring the emergency situation within the affected area under control. Those orders, rules, and regulations may include, but are not limited to, providing for the control of traffic, including public and private transportation, within the area or any section of the area; designation of specific zones within the area in which occupancy and use of buildings and ingress and egress of persons and vehicles may be prohibited or regulated; control of places of amusement and assembly and of persons on public streets and thoroughfares; establishment of a curfew; control of the sale, transportation, and use of alcoholic beverages and liquors; and control of the storage, use, and transportation of explosives or inflammable materials or liquids deemed to be dangerous to public safety. (2) The orders, rules, and regulations promulgated under subsection (1) are effective from the date and in the manner prescribed in the orders, rules, and regulations and shall be made public as provided in the orders, rules, and regulations. The orders, rules, and regulations may be amended, modified, or rescinded, in the manner in which they were promulgated, from time to time by the governor during the pendency of the emergency, but shall cease to be in effect upon declaration by the governor that the emergency no longer exists. (3) Subsection (1) does not authorize the seizure, taking, or confiscation of lawfully possessed firearms, ammunition, or other weapons.