Smokehouse and Mirrors

Ian Murphy has owned and operated the Iron Pig Smokehouse in Gaylord, Michigan, for nearly seven years. And for half that time, he’s been embroiled in a legal battle against state and local officials just to keep the doors open.

But Murphy’s case is about much more than just the Iron Pig. It’s also about the scope of government and the constitutional boundaries that Michigan officials seem determined to cross.

Unfortunately for them, Murphy keeps winning.

His latest win in court came last month, when Circuit Court Judge Colin Hunter ruled that the state policies cited by Murphy’s local health department to enforce COVID-19 restrictions violated the state’s separation of powers. Previously, in January 2022, Judge Hunter struck down a similar statute used by the state Department of Health during the pandemic, and for the same reason: Michigan’s executive branch does not have the sweeping authority to shut down businesses or limit gatherings of people. That authority belongs only to the state legislature, e.g., Michiganders’ elected representatives.