The state Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether law enforcement training videos can be held under Wisconsin’s open records laws.
The state Democratic Party is seeking the release of the two videos that include presentations Attorney General Brad Schimel made to investigators in 2009 and 2013, while he was serving as Waukesha County District Attorney.
Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin argued that making the recordings public would reveal tactics used by investigators and could traumatize victims. “If victims know that the horrific things that happened to them, even if they’re initially made public, will years later be re-publicized, the undisputed record of evidence in this case is that they will be chilled from coming forward,” Tseytlin argued in court Tuesday.
State Democratic Party Attorney Michael Bauer argued that the information in the training videos is readily available from multiple sources, and there’s no compelling reason to keep them from being released. “It really is basic well-known law enforcement techniques,” he said.
A pair of lower courts already ruled the recordings should be released under the state’s open records law. Justices are expected to issue their decision in the coming months.
