Open Records Law

By a 5-2 vote, on January 17, 2025, the Wisconsin Supreme Court vacated a District II Court of Appeals decision holding that county registers in probate must provide, in response to requests under Wisconsin’s public records law, copies of Notice of Voting Eligibility (“NVE”) forms—court records relating to determinations of the competency of individuals to vote that are otherwise sealed from the public and protected from disclosure by Wisconsin law.  In Wisconsin Voter Alliance v. Secord, 2025 WI 2,
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Preserves Privacy Protections for Court Records of Voters Subject to Guardianships, Affirms Unified Nature of Court of Appeals

Hon. Jeh Charles Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and ABA Task Force for American Democracy co-chair, speaks on “The Threat to Democracy.”

July 11, 2024 – A dozen speakers recently gave sobering presentations on the threat to democracy during a nonpartisan event from the American Bar Association’s Task Force for American Democracy, in partnership with the State Bar of Wisconsin.

The program, called
Wisconsin: Elections in the 21st Century (watch now) was held in-person July
Continue Reading American Bar Association Brings Democracy Listening Tour to Wisconsin

In early July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a decision that reversed decades of precedent regarding the ability of a plaintiff to recover attorney’s fees in an open records mandamus action. Friends of Frame Park, U.A. v. City of Waukesha,[1] holds that a plaintiff in an open records lawsuit can only be awarded legal fees and damages if the lawsuit results in a court order mandating the production of previously withheld records.

Under Wisconsin law, if an authority
Continue Reading When the Wind Blows