State to Pay Mackinac Center Legal Fees Following Michigan Supreme Court Ruling

The state of Michigan will pay a local conservative think tank $200,000 in legal fees following a case in the Michigan Supreme Court.

In May 2020, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Grand Rapids-based Miller Johnson law firm filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency authority during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court unanimously decided that the governor’s attempt to continue a state of emergency without legislative approval was illegal. In an additional 4-3 ruling in the same case, the court declared the Emergency Powers of Governor Act of 1945 unconstitutional. This decision restored the separation of powers and struck down every executive order issued since April 30, 2020.

An agreement about the legal fees was reached with the offices of the governor, attorney general and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.