Wisconsin Requests Appeal to Collective Bargaining Restraining Order

Friday: Judge Maryann Sumi listens to arguments during a hearing in Dane County Curcuit Court in Madison, Wis. (AP/Milwakee Journal Sentinel)

MADISON, Wis. -- The state Justice Department has filed a request to appeal an emergency order blocking the state's contentious new collective bargaining law.

Democratic Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne asked for the order blocking the law's publication as part of a lawsuit he filed last week. Ozanne maintains Republican legislative leaders violated the state's open meeting law during debate on the proposal.

The Republicans have countered they did nothing wrong. But Judge Maryann Sumi decided on Friday the lawsuit had a reasonable chance of succeeding and granted the order.

Justice Department attorneys represent the state's Republican-led executive branch. Since Sumi's order isn't final, they must win permission from an appeals court to challenge it. The agency argued in its filing to the state Court of Appeals that Sumi had no authority block the law's publication.