In October, we had another exciting victory in Wisconsin. In the last issue of Liberty & Law, we announced that a state judge had declared the state’s ban on selling home-baked goods unconstitutional on May 31. We were thrilled by the judge’s excellent opinion, and bakers in the Badger State were eager to get baking—but Wisconsin had a different idea. The state continued to enforce the ban, threatening home bakers with jail time and hefty fines. Wisconsin justified its actions by arguing that the judge’s ruling meant only the three bakers we represented were allowed to legally bake and sell their goods.
In response, we immediately alerted the judge and provided plenty of evidence to show that he absolutely had the power to protect bakers who were not part of our lawsuit. We had another hearing before the court, filed more briefs and generated multiple media stories. It paid off when the judge ruled that his previous opinion did in fact cover all home bakers. The ruling caused hundreds of home bakers to celebrate, and we are still receiving thank you messages from bakers all across Wisconsin.
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