Wyoming Supreme Court Denies State’s Petition for Rehearing in Hill Case

The Wyoming Supreme Court on Friday decided not to reconsider its decision striking down a law that stripped Superintendent of Public instruction Cindy Hill of most of her responsibilities.The court voted 3-2 to deny a petition to rehear the case by Wyoming Attorney General Peter Michael. It said the district court could handle further proceedings on the issue.

In the order released Friday, the court also rejected "any suggestion that jurisdiction of this matter should remain with this Court for further action. Such an approach would only result in further delay and continuation of the status quo, which is unconstitutional. It would also have the practical effect of “running out the clock” until the current Superintendent’s term of office expires. The court said the unconstitutional statutory scheme has now been in place for a year. Efforts should be made to achieve constitutional compliance as quickly as possible.