Wisconsin Supreme Court Accepts Important Open Records Case
The Wisconsin Supreme Court announced that New Richmond News v. City of New Richmond, is among the cases it has recently accepted for review. This case involves the interplay between the Wisconsin Open Records Law, which generally provides for the disclosure of municipal records to the public, and the Driver’s Privacy and Protection Act (DPPA), which provides for the protection of personally identifying information in motor vehicle records. The circuit court held that the state law trumped the DPPA. After receiving the circuit court decision, the parties filed a joint petition to bypass the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and move directly to review by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Stafford's Municipal Law blog post discussing the City’s decision to appeal is available here.
The DPPA has received much attention from municipalities, particularly following the Senne v. City of Palatine decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011. The New Richmondcase will provide some much-needed guidance regarding the interplay between the DPPA and Wisconsin Open Records Law.
