WBA NewsroomUsing Wisconsin’s powerful Open Records law is one of the many important ways Journalists in the state find out what government is doing. It would seem that the intent of Wisconsin’s strong Public Records Law is clear: if it has to do with the people’s business, it’s public. (For a quick tutorial on Wisconsin’s Public Records Law, this link will take you to that section of the WBA Newsroom site.) However, for the past couple years, the Walker administration has been trying to more narrowly define the law, as in this story reported by the Wisconsin State Journal. Late this past summer, the state legislature made an attempt to essentially do away with the state’s Open Records Law. As the digital age advances, methods of communication like text messages can call into question what the Open Records Law really covers. Though the intent of the law is quite clear, advancing technology makes it a challenge to interpret the law – something the courts will end up doing in this case and many others like it.
Posted by Tim Morrissey