Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council statement regarding the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling in Friends of Frame Park v. City of Waukesha

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s ruling today in Friends of Frame Park vs. City of Waukesha is a body blow to the state’s traditions of open government. It undermines the provision in the open records law that allows litigants to recover actual costs and attorney’s fees in cases in which access to records is wrongfully denied. […]

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June: Judge was wrong to bar recordings of trial

Since 1979, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has allowed cameras and microphones in state courtrooms, subject to reasonable restrictions. Thirty years ago, Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s sanity trial was broadcast live. In 2006, former Green Bay Packers tight end Mark Chmura’s sexual assault and child enticement trial was broadcast live. This past November, Kyle Rittenhouse’s […]

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May: Ask lawmakers for the records they delete

If a legislator deletes an email, is it truly gone? Not necessarily. On March 10, Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn ordered Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to search for deleted emails that should have been preserved after an open records request from American Oversight, a watchdog group. Weeks later, Vos’ team surrendered an astounding 20,000 […]

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March: Opees awards highlight good and bad

For the sixteenth consecutive year, the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is presenting its Openness Awards, or Opees, to recognize outstanding efforts to protect the state’s tradition of open government, as well as some of the threats to it. The awards, part of the observance of national Sunshine Week (sunshineweek.org), March 13-19, are given in […]

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Attorney General Opinions and Letters

Wisconsin statutes grant responsibility to the Attorney General to provide citizens with advice regarding the state’s open meetings and public records laws. The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Office of Open Government maintains an extensive listing of the advisories and opinions it has issued regarding the state’s open records and open meetings laws. To see this […]

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November: Records shed light on board shenanigans

The Natural Resources Board, an all-volunteer body that guides policy for the Department of Natural Resources, is part of Wisconsin’s tradition of open government. The idea to empower volunteers  —  rather than politicians  —  was first proposed in the progressive era by leading conservationists, including Aldo Leopold, who understood that decisions about natural resources should […]

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