Karofsky calls conversion therapy ‘beyond horrific’ as court debates JCRAR power to block ban

Liberal Justice Jill Karofsky pressed an attorney for GOP lawmakers to justify a handful of lawmakers repeatedly suspending a rule seeking to ban conversion therapy, a practice she called “beyond horrific.”

After reading a description of the treatment during oral arguments Thursday, Karofsky demanded a justification for allowing some members of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules to prevent implementation of an Evers administration proposal to essentially ban the practice. 

“I’m saying there are real lives that are at risk here,” Karofsky said, adding, “This is hurting people.”

As GOP attorney Misha Tsteylin sought to answer Karofsky’s questions, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley interjected.

“Counsel, what is left of the rule of law if this court makes its decision based not on the Constitution, not on the law, but on our visceral personal, emotional responses to what policies the Legislature may be attempting to enact or resist?” she asked.

The court on Thursday heard arguments in the Evers’ administration challenge of oversight powers the Legislature has granted the JCRAR. 

The committee indefinitely blocked commercial building code rules promulgated by the Department of Safety and Professional Services and suspended for more than three years the rule the Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board issued that served as a de facto ban on conversion therapy.

Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn described the JCRAR process as a “gentleman’s agreement” that isn’t neatly spelled out in the Wisconsin Constitution. Still, he also noted overruling the process would mean reversing years of precedent the court has set, calling it the most consequential case he’s seen in his five years on the bench.

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Source: WisPolitics