Author: Christa Westerberg

Many states, including Wisconsin, have public records laws. But that doesn’t mean requesters always get the records they seek, or even that the laws are followed. What provisions in a state’s laws are most associated with compliance? The answer may surprise you. It’s not the strength of a law’s penalty provisions or whether a state […]

In a scene from the movie “A Few Good Men,” the character played by Tom Cruise spars with Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup over a hazing that killed a soldier. Cruise demands, “I want the truth!,” to which Nicholson famously responds, “You can’t handle the truth!” Wisconsin citizens are getting the “You can’t handle the truth” […]

Just shy of two years ago, this column explored the heightened importance of open government when public health is at risk. Multiple examples showed the government was not sharing timely information with the public, or even other branches of government, on issues such as clean drinking water and chronic wasting disease. Some progress may be […]

As Justice Shirley Abrahamson ends her tenure on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, after 43 years and more than 1,300 authored opinions, she leaves a rich legacy of legal scholarship, importantly including her support for government transparency. While on the court, Abrahamson faithfully applied the presumption in favor of public access in the open records and […]

Wisconsin’s open government laws were meant to strengthen our democracy by ensuring an informed electorate. But, sometimes, transparency is about more than democracy—it is about human health, with serious consequences when transparency fails. Earlier this year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the city of Milwaukee had failed to alert thousands of families whose children […]

The Wisconsin Constitution states that “the doors of each house” of the state Legislature “shall be kept open,” except on rare occasions. But even with the doors open, the public may not know what’s going on. A growing trend threatens transparency—and good government—in Wisconsin. Some legislative committees are using “mail ballots” to vote, instead of […]

Wisconsin’s third branch of government is critical to open government. This year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear three cases involving Wisconsin’s open records law, and could make important decisions involving access to the courts. The court’s docket starts with a case about whether videos of law enforcement training sessions must be released to the […]

The last six months have been a roller coaster for Wisconsin’s open records law. After the Legislature’s failed attack on the law over the Independence Day holiday, August brought a new threat. A little-known state board expanded the definition of “transitory records,” which can be immediately destroyed. Once this action was revealed, there was an […]

The office of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has crafted a new interpretation of the state’s open records law, claiming it can exempt records used in developing a final decision from disclosure. In this case, “new” is not “improved.” Earlier this year, records requesters asked the office for its communications with the Department of Administration, after […]

Stung by controversy last year over its allegedly light treatment of an environmental rule breaker, the state Department of Natural Resources is rewriting its enforcement procedures. Unfortunately, a draft of its plan calls for making the process less transparent. When dealing with polluters, the DNR’s policy is to apply progressively stricter actions until violations are […]

Wherever they may be on the political spectrum, most Wisconsinites would likely agree that the last year has been a lively one for open government issues in our state. Access issues — including Capitol access, records requests to university professors, arrests of photojournalists, and secret redistricting, to name a few — have regularly made the […]

Wisconsin’s open records and open meetings laws are decades old, passed long before the Internet was even a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye. While the state’s open records law explicitly includes electronic records, it falls short of providing clear guidance in every situation. And that creates problems in an age where the Internet and e-mail are […]

Once again, Wisconsin’s online circuit court access program (commonly called CCAP) is under attack. CCAP is, by all accounts, a successful program. It provides free online access to most circuit court records, civil or criminal, and is accessed three million to five million times a day. It saves the public and court employees untold amounts […]

Recently, I was asked to present at a conference on open government held by the Wisconsin Counties Association, as someone who uses and promotes the use of the state’s open records law. What did I want this roomful of records custodians to know? Thus, the Top Ten Things Requesters Want list was born. It’s not […]

“Case closed.” These are words you expect to hear when a court case is completed-the defendant has been found guilty or innocent, the parties have settled, or the case is dismissed. But “case closed” may have another meaning in Wisconsin. Currently, dozens of ongoing cases in Wisconsin are fully or partially sealed from public view, […]

Recent Wisconsin Supreme Court rulings present a mixed bag that still lends some support to open government advocates by providing new guidance to citizens and government bodies. First, the open government wins: — State of Wisconsin v. Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation clarified when allegedly private entities are subject to the public records and open […]