> The legislature may have buyer's remorse for the breadth of discretion it gave to (the Department of Health Services). But those are the laws it drafted
So although every state is different, Wisconsin isn't that different and its Supreme Court did not rule on the law and only on feelings.
The majority opinion was across the ideological spectrum, the dissenting opinion was across the ideological spectrum as well.
4-3 decision
One member of the court had just left the court, could have easily been 4-4 or another combination
> One member of the court had just left the court, could have easily been 4-4 or another combination
The incumbent (Kelly) was voted out of office about a month ago, and the winning challenger (Karofsky) won't fill the seat until August 1, 2020. Kelly sided with the majority opinion in this decision.
Lame ducks (Congresses, Legislatures, Governors, and Presidents) often do things that they should not. Republicans and Democrats have done plenty of lame duck things they shouldn't have. It's a fact of life in the U.S. system that mostly derives from long transitions having been necessary in the 18th century due to the slowness of communications and travel back then.
The long transition from FDR to Hoover caused the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be passed and ratified which greatly shortened it -- it's still too long! One of the reasons the transition from general election to Presidential inauguration is so long is that the Electoral College has to convene, and that legal challenges to electoral results have to be resolved -- all that takes time, and some times (e.g., in 2000) it takes almost all the allotted time. Still, it could probably be made much shorter, but it would require yet another Amendment.
I suspect long transition periods in State governments have similar reasons for being.
So although every state is different, Wisconsin isn't that different and its Supreme Court did not rule on the law and only on feelings.
The majority opinion was across the ideological spectrum, the dissenting opinion was across the ideological spectrum as well.
4-3 decision
One member of the court had just left the court, could have easily been 4-4 or another combination
Interesting, Wisconsin