A Wisconsin judge temporarily blocked a law supported by Gov. Scott Walker that would strip teachers and other public workers of many collective bargaining rights.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi issued the temporary restraining order on March 18 after the county’s district attorney argued the legislature violated open meetings laws when it approved the measure. The state appealed, but the 4th District Court of Appeals last week declined to rule on the issue, saying it should be decided by the state Supreme Court instead.
To pass the legislation, Republicans in the state Senate went around the chamber’s 14 Democrats—who had fled the state to block a vote—by splitting the measure off from the rest of the original bills budget issues and approving it through a legislative committee. That allowed a vote on the collective bargaining portion with fewer senators present.
