Wisconsin Appeals Court Refuses to Put Act 10 Ruling on Hold
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had asked appeals court to stay a rule by a Dane County judge that said parts of the collective-bargaining law are unconstitutional.
A Wisconsin appeals court Tuesday refused to put a hold on a judge's decision repealing major parts of Act 10, the law that ended collective bargaining for most public workers.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen in September had asked the 4th District Court of Appeals to stay the ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas that portions of the law were unconsitutional.
Van Hollen wanted to stay the decision while the case was being appealed. Colas refused in October to do so, and the state appeals court on Tuesday upheld that decision, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The appeals court said it saw "no basis to set aside the circuit court's decision that a stay was not warranted," the State Journal reported.
Today’s ruling likely sets the stage for Van Hollen to take the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, according to Patch's media partners BizTimes.com. The conservative wing of the high court has a 5-4 majority, which underscores the importance of the April 2 Supreme Court race between incumbent Pat Roggensack and challenger Ed Fallone, the BizTimes said.
Tuesday's decisions comes about three months after a federal appeals court upheld the constitutionality of that the controversial state law, which was part of Gov. Scott Walker's budget-repair bill introduced in 2011.
In that January ruling, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said the state had a rational reason for rolling back collective bargaining rights, and rejected arguments from public employees unions that they violated First Amendment rights.
A Walker spokesman to the State Journal Tuesday he was confident the law ultimately would be upheld. Van Hollen's spokeswoman told the newspaper that a decision whether to ask the Supreme Court to issue a stay was under consideration.
Craig
4:35 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Final chapter done. Now let's move forward.
morninmist
11:20 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Yes. lets move forward.
Carbon Bigfuut
12:27 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
It would be great for WI to move forward, but the unions and parasites keep getting in the way.
DICK STEINBERG
6:10 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Once the law is in place it is very difficult for a court to rule that the legislative process must start over.
Steve ®
6:24 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Drum circle commence!
TIM S.
9:15 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Maybe some sanity and finality will come, but I'm not holding my breath.
yomammy
6:35 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
"not on hold" until another ultra-liberal madison judge is found....
Tom Kamenick
7:04 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
No, it does not set the stage for the Supreme Court to take the case. The Court of Appeals only denied the request for a stay, it has not yet ruled on the merits.
More information on the court's opinion can be found here:
http://www.will-law.org/home/Case-Updates/2013/03/12/Court-of-Appeals-Denies-Stay-in-Act-10-Case
Bam Bam Ruble
8:21 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Blow the dust off of the vuvuzela and the tattered blue fist signs!!
Avenging Angel
11:15 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Any sentence that begins with "Dane County Judge" never seems to end well.
Keith Best
11:30 am on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Eventually, all of ACT 10 reforms will be declared law.
Greg
4:11 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The people's voice should be heard over that of a single activist judge!
morninmist
10:35 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
ah Keith
Careful with your predictions:
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/03/12018/walkers-anti-union-law-should-remain-blocked-court-says
...However, the appeals court rejected the state's assertion that it was "near-certain-to-win" its appeal, which would have required Colas to consider a lesser showing of irreparable harm resulting from not staying the decision. The court instead said it was a "middle ground" case where the outcome of an appeal is not certain.
The appeals court said that "confusion" over whether collective bargaining is in effect is not compelling enough to put the ruling on hold. Additionally, the court found, granting a stay of the September decision would not resolve any of the underlying legal issues or prevent any further litigation.
"Until the Wisconsin Supreme Court finally resolves the issues, either by issuing a definite ruling on the merits or by issuing an order declining to review a merits decision of this court, it seems that ongoing litigation is inevitable," the appeals court said.
Multiple challenges to Act 10 have been filed in state and federal court since it became law in 2011. In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago reversed a decision that found provisions of Act 10 unconstitutional, likely foreclosing further federal challenges. The decision by Judge Colas is in state court....
morninmist
10:38 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
@Greg
I do believe there is more than one judge involved.
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2013/03/12018/walkers-anti-union-law-should-remain-blocked-court-says
Walker's Anti-Union Law Should Remain Blocked, Court Says
by Brendan Fischer — March 13, 2013 - 11:07am
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A Wisconsin appeals court has refused to put a hold on a lower court's decision that overturned key provisions of Governor Scott Walker's controversial Act 10, which severely limited collective bargaining rights for most public employees. The appellate decision will allow teacher's unions and others to continue collectively negotiating contracts.
A three-judge panel rejected a request from Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to delay enforcement of a judge's decision striking down several portions of Act 10 as unconstitutional......
................
Greg
4:11 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The people's voice should be heard over that of a single activist judge!
Greg
11:38 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
"a lower court's decision" would be one judge.
jukap29
6:55 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
@Greg - it was, we voted in the recall, Walker stayed, you lost
jbw
7:49 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Any way you look at it you lose.
Steve ®
8:13 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
juk. You basically reworded what Greg said.
Greg
8:17 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Jukap29,
Reread my comment.
Greg
8:27 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Steve ®,
I said it better. My comment was wise and profound.
Steve ®
11:56 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I concur
yomammy
7:02 am on Thursday, March 14, 2013
the comment was almost like it was spoken directly from Socrates himself...
Bucky
9:32 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
If you voted and Walker stayed then you and everyone else in this state lost.
Bucky
9:34 am on Saturday, March 16, 2013
Now even the smallest of minds on here can not comprehend thier own writtings.
morninmist
11:29 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
@CitizenActionWI: January payrolls rise in 34 US states, Scott Walker's Wisconsin lost 6000 jobs bloom.bg/11aFfkp
KHD
11:53 am on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Scott Walker is the best Governor this state has ever had and will be re-elected again.
morninmist
12:23 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
hey KHD
Wake up. The Gov is a deadbeat!
March 19, 2013
ICYMI: We're 44th: Most Accurate Gauge Yet of Scott Walker Jobs Failure
http://www.wisdems.org/news/press/view/2013-03-icymi-were-44th-most-accurate-gauge-yet-of-scott-wal
The most accurate jobs numbers to date have been released and they show Scott Walker failing, as Wisconsin is ranked 44th nationally in jobs creation and dead last in the Midwest.
The figures released yesterday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics run counter to the narrative being put forward by the Walker administration, which has unchained Wisconsin from the improving national economy by a series of drastic cuts to jobs investments.
Wisconsin previously had ranked 42nd. Forbes magazine has ranked Wisconsin 2nd-worst in the nation in economic prospects and one of the ten worst states for business. And Wisconsin led the nation in job loss during Walker's term as governor -- in which he promised to create 250,000 private sector jobs in his first term in office, a promise he has since abandoned. Other recent federal figures have shown a sharp uptick in Wisconsin's unemployment rate -- a spike not mirrored in the national economy or among neighboring states.
Read about Walker's terrible jobs numbers here................
Fred Fischer
8:59 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Lots of emotions here. I would think there's more of an advantage to not collectively bargain. That way the best producers will be rewarded adequately and not be dragged down by the weak and/or lazy. Also, I don't think anyone should be forced to join a union.