Skeptical Michigan Justices Blast Governors’ Covid Safety Orders

Michigan high court justices expressed unease with their governor’s vast authority to impose health orders meant to slow the spread of Covid-19 during a marathon oral argument Wednesday.

Nearly all of the justices asked questions ranging from skeptical to outright hostile about the more than 170 health orders Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) issued over the last six months.

While questions from a majority of the seven justices probed where to draw the line on Whitmer’s power, others questioned the fundamental basis for orders they said threw out individual liberties or scuttled restrictions on Whitmer’s authority.

Small health-care providers prohibited from ...