Classic example of being caught between a rock and a hard place for the police deparments. Can’t release info without redacting cause they might get sued; can’t release info with redacting cause it causes problems for everyone and they still might get sued.
Hope the courts either sort it out, or the legislature gives them some modifications to the current privacy laws.
Gee…..do ya think the law has gone a little too far to the left?
A typical government knee-jerk reaction: one death – while certainly not insignificant in itself – causes the passage of the law which now inhibits law-abiding citizens from getting what they need, only because those doing the redacting are afraid of being sued because of the law.
“…open government advocates fuming. They say the legal interpretation flies in the face of the state’s open records law and denies the public oversight of law enforcement operations.”
Maybe they should check with some of those attorneys/politicians that reacted to such a program!
What I don’t understand is, this is a federal law and an Illionois case. Why do the law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin seem to be on the leading edge of redacting information. Why isn’t every state running scared of this decision if it is so earth shattering?
Wisconsin is one of the states in the jurisdiction of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Most police agencies have ignored the DPPA and now they are getting a wakeup call. This might inconvenience some people, but state public records laws are to reveal the actions of government, not really to let people go on snooping expeditions of other citizens. This will not be the only case on the subject. A Wisconsin city is being sued in Florida for conduct much more outrageous which will illustrate some major problems with Wisconsin’s open records act.
Classic example of being caught between a rock and a hard place for the police deparments. Can’t release info without redacting cause they might get sued; can’t release info with redacting cause it causes problems for everyone and they still might get sued.
Hope the courts either sort it out, or the legislature gives them some modifications to the current privacy laws.
Gee…..do ya think the law has gone a little too far to the left?
A typical government knee-jerk reaction: one death – while certainly not insignificant in itself – causes the passage of the law which now inhibits law-abiding citizens from getting what they need, only because those doing the redacting are afraid of being sued because of the law.
Common sense is eroding rapidly………….
What, exactly, makes this a “Leftist” agenda?
The right-to-privacy nuts tend to be more right-wing.
Or is anything able to be blamed on Liberals these days?
“…open government advocates fuming. They say the legal interpretation flies in the face of the state’s open records law and denies the public oversight of law enforcement operations.”
Maybe they should check with some of those attorneys/politicians that reacted to such a program!
What I don’t understand is, this is a federal law and an Illionois case. Why do the law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin seem to be on the leading edge of redacting information. Why isn’t every state running scared of this decision if it is so earth shattering?
Wisconsin is one of the states in the jurisdiction of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Most police agencies have ignored the DPPA and now they are getting a wakeup call. This might inconvenience some people, but state public records laws are to reveal the actions of government, not really to let people go on snooping expeditions of other citizens. This will not be the only case on the subject. A Wisconsin city is being sued in Florida for conduct much more outrageous which will illustrate some major problems with Wisconsin’s open records act.