Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear oral arguments for 'Safer at Home' lawsuit

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for next week in a lawsuit seeking to block an extension of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' stay-at-home order.

Republican legislators filed the lawsuit directly with the high court last month after state Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm extended the order to May 26.

The lawmakers say Palm lacked the authority to extend the order and asked the court to issue a temporary injunction blocking it.

The court ruled 6-1 on Friday afternoon to hold oral arguments on Tuesday morning.

“The governor has denied the people a voice through this unprecedented administrative overreach. Unfortunately, that leaves the legislature no choice but to ask the Supreme Court to rein in this obvious abuse of power," GOP leaders Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) argued in their initial statement.

Gov. Evers and the Wisconsin DHS meanwhile argue that the extension will help ensure Wisconsin reduces the rising number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state. They say that if they did not extend the stay-at-home order, Wisconsin would lose much of the progress made since the order was issued last March.