CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Supreme Court has issued its ruling regarding the allowance of intervenors to join the case of Johnson v. Wyoming, which will decide if the recent abortion bans are legal under the Wyoming Constitution. The intervenors will not be allowed to participate.
Last year, the Wyoming Legislature passed two abortion bans. Both pieces of legislation, HB152 “Life is a Human Right Act” and SF109 “Prohibiting chemical abortions,” were blocked by temporary restraining orders granted by Ninth District Court Judge Melissa Owens. Wyoming Representatives Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman requested to participate in the case along with pro-life advocacy group Right to Life Wyoming. Owens denied the request in 2023.
The opinion issued by the Wyoming Supreme Court on Friday upholds Owens’ denial.
Remarks at the December pretrial conference revolved around the intervenors. Peter Modlin, the attorney representing the plaintiffs arguing against the ban, discouraged the court from allowing the intervenors to participate.
“If you begin to allow legislators [to intervene]… we’re going to get a reprise of the political debate in court, which is not appropriate,” Modlin said.
The state court’s ruling on Friday arrived at the same conclusion.
The judges ruled that Owens had reasonably concluded that the intervenors would delay proceedings and potentially create political biases in the verdict.
“Because the Proposed Intervenors do not have a significant protectable interest in the litigation, the district court did not err in denying their motion to intervene as of right,” the court’s opinion states.
Read the court’s full statement here.
