Author: Bob Dreps

Last month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court powerfully affirmed the state’s tradition of open and transparent government. In a unanimous ruling, the court affirmed the statutory limits the Legislature placed on public records fees and rejected the argument that requesters can be required to pay “each and every cost incurred by an authority.” The dispute between […]

The key question in the ongoing legal tussle over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill comes down to this: “Must the Legislature comply with the state’s Open Meetings Law?” At first glance, the answer might seem obvious, since the Legislature itself pledged to comply when it passed the law in 1975. Here’s the exact language: […]

In some ways, the dispute was a lawyer’s dream: It was a case of first impression presenting an unusual mix of labor relations, public records and constitutional law. But the case also presented a potential nightmare for officials who keep custody of records, those who want to review them, and anyone else who cares about […]