Michigan, Providers Clash Over Certification to State Top Court

Health-care providers challenging Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s power to halt nonessential medical treatments during the cororavirus pandemic told a federal court it should ask the state’s top court to decide state constitutional issues raised in their complaint.

Whitmer (D), Attorney General Dana Nessell (D), and Michigan Health and Human Services Department Director Robert Gordon, however, urged the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to deny certification and dismiss the case. There is no reason for the federal court to ask the Michigan Supreme Court anything, as the emergency orders have expired and the issues are moot, they ...