Detroit City Wire

A state court has found that the felony penalties for violations of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders violates Michigan law, according to a press release from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. 

The June 8 ruling from the Michigan Court of Claims is the first to find an executive order from Whitmer to be illegal. The ruling was from a suit filed by the Makinac Center Legal Foundation on behalf of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan and DJ’s Landscape Management.

The nature of the court case gained a lot of media attention, causing its appearance in several state and national newspapers, according to the Mackinac Center. The Detroit News published an op-ed written by Jeff Wiggins, state director for ABC Michigan, who said the ruling is a positive step for the state. 

"The arguments we made were quite clear and in support of stability and the rule of law," Wiggins wrote in his op-ed. "Any governor, regardless of the situation, should not be allowed to arbitrarily pick and choose how to implement and enforce rules and regulations on Michigan citizens and businesses, especially when there are relevant laws already in place to do precisely that. The lawsuit sought to require the governor to follow existing laws, including the plain text of any applicable laws from which she was attempting to derive authority and enforcement measures."