About half of Wisconsin circuit courts rescind COVID-19 orders, policies vary in others

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Although circuit courts throughout Wisconsin managed to continue operating throughout the pandemic, many are now returning to business as usual in light of a recent order from the state Supreme Court.

The high court issued an order on May 21 no longer requiring that circuit and municipal courts have in place policies on masking, social distancing and sanitization for in-person proceedings.

“Instead, circuit courts and municipal courts, with the approval of the applicable chief judge, shall make county-wide decisions about what is in the best interest of circuit court and municipal court operations, respectively,” according to the order.

In the days and weeks that followed, many circuit courts rescinded or amended their COVID-related operational plans. More than half of all counties with revised operational plans had rescinded their orders or returned to their pre-pandemic operations by June 16.

For some courts, county-wide directives mean precautions are still in place at courthouses, despite rescinded or modified orders. People in the Dane County courthouse, for example, must continue wear masks and social distance because of an order from the Dane County executive that applies to all county facilities. Those rules will remain in place until July 6. After that anyone who’s fully vaccinated will no longer have to wear a mask or social distance.

As of June 24, only 10 counties continue to require mask wearing, social distancing and other COVID-related precautions through their own operational orders. Among them is Milwaukee County, where the preventative measures remain the same now as they were a year ago, when in-person proceedings first resumed.

First Judicial District Chief Judge Mary Triggiano and other court-system officials in Milwaukee County say they still feel an obligation to keep the general public safe.

“One of the benefits of our slow, stepwise approach is we didn’t contribute to the spread of this virus in our courthouse community or in the community at large, and I think that was really important,” Triggiano said.

Triggiano, county health officials and others look to the local rate of viral spread and the vaccination rate when considering any changes to their operations. Other counties around the state are similarly taking into account the number of people who have been vaccinated. Approximately 49% of Wisconsinites have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services updated on June 16.

Ten counties have kept COVID-19 precautions in place for people who haven’t received a vaccine but are now allowing those who are fully vaccinated to enter courthouses and attend in-person proceedings without masks.

The remaining counties with revised operational plans have decided to make preventative measures optional for everyone coming to court. Some counties are encouraging mask wearing, social distancing and the use of alternatives to in-person business but stop short of insisting anyone take such steps. Jackson County, for example, is no longer requiring masks.

“Signs will be posted recommending that unvaccinated persons appearing in courtrooms, hearing rooms, or court related spaces wear masks,” the Jackson County order dated June 4 said. “… Everyone should be respectful of others when making personal public health decisions.”

The variety in courts’ current COVID-19 policies is paralleled by the criticism three Supreme Court justices leveled at the court’s May 21 order. Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, joined by Justice Brian Hagedorn, concurred with the idea that county courts should have control over their own procedures but dissented to proposals that would chief judges the final say in such matters.

Justice Rebecca Bradley repeated points she had made in her previous dissents to the state Supreme Court’s COVID-19 orders over the past 15 months. She agreed that the safety requirements should be ended but also thought individual judges shouldn’t need the approval of chief judges.

“It is time for this court to allow Wisconsin’s circuit and municipal court judges to control the operation of their own courts once again,” Bradley wrote.

This story originally appeared in the June issue of the Wisconsin Law Journal. Several updates to courts’ COVID-19 policies have been made since the publication went to print. The interactive map has been updated as of June 24. Please reference the Wisconsin Court System website for updates or contact the county circuit court directly.