(A) General right to inspect. Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to inspect any record. Substantive common law principles construing the right to inspect, copy or receive copies of records shall remain in effect. The exemptions to the requirement of a governmental body to meet in open session under Wis. Stats. § 19.85 are indicative of public policy with respect to exemptions to open records requests. However, these criteria may be used as grounds for denying public access to a record only if the authority or legal custodian makes a specific demonstration that there is a need to restrict public access at the time that the request to inspect or copy the record is made.
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(a))
(B) Right to inspect personal records. In addition to any right under division (A) above, any requester who is an individual or person authorized by the individual has a right to inspect any record containing personally identifiable information pertaining to the individual that is maintained by an authority and to make or receive a copy of any such information. When access is sought to any records which pertain to an individual, the targeted individual has a right to notification and to seek court review of the decision if the record custodian agrees to release the information. The right to inspect or copy a record under this division does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Any record containing personally identifiable information that is collected or maintained in connection with a complaint, investigation or other circumstances that may lead to an enforcement action, administrative proceeding, arbitration proceeding or court proceeding, or any such record that is collected or maintained in connection with such an action or proceeding;
(2) Any record containing personally identifiable information that, if disclosed, would do any of the following:
(a) Endanger an individual’s life or safety;
(b) Identify a confidential informant;
(c) Endanger the security of any state correctional institution, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 301.01(4); jail, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 165.85(2)(bg); secured correctional facility, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 938.02(15g); mental health institute, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 51.01(12); center for the developmentally disabled, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 51.01(3); or the population or staff of any of these jails, institutions or facilities; or
(d) Compromise the rehabilitation of a person in the custody of the department of corrections or detained in a jail or facility identified in division (B)(2)(c).
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(am)2.d.)
(3) Any record that is part of a records series, as defined in Wis. Stats. § 19.62(7), that is not indexed, arranged or automated in a way that the record can be retrieved by the authority maintaining the records series by use of an individual’s name, address or other identifier.
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(am)3.)
(C) Copies of written records. Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to inspect a record and to make or receive a copy of a record, which appears in written form. If a requester requests a copy of the record, the authority having custody of the record may, at his or her option, permit the requester to photocopy the record or provide the requester with a copy substantially as readable as the original.
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(b))
(D) Copies of audio tapes. Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to receive from an authority having custody of a record which is in the form of a comprehensible audio tape recording, a copy of the tape recording substantially as audible as the original. The authority may instead provide a transcript of the recording to the requester if he or she requests.
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35 (1)(c))
(E) Copies of video tapes. Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to receive from an authority having custody of a record which is in the form of a video tape recording a copy of the tape recording substantially as good as the original.
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(d))
(F) Incomprehensible records to be reduced to written form. Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to receive from the custodian of a record which is not in a readily comprehensible form a copy of the information contained in the record assembled and reduced to written form on paper.
(Wis. Stats. § 19.35(1)(e))
(G) Inspection of non-copyable records. Except as otherwise provided by law, any requester has a right to inspect any record not specified in divisions (C) through (F), the form of which does not permit copying. If a requester requests permission to photograph the record, the authority having custody of the record may permit the requester to photograph the record. If a requester requests that a photograph of the record be provided, the authority shall provide a good quality photograph of the record.
(H) Exception. Divisions (A) to (D), (F) and (G) do not apply to a record which has been or will be promptly published with copies offered for sale or distribution.
(Ord. 38-07, passed - -07)
Statutory reference:
Right to inspect, see Wis. Stats. § 19.35