Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, described the court’s ruling as “a body blow to the state’s traditions of open government.”
“It undermines the provision in the open records law that allows litigants to recover actual costs and attorney’s fees in cases in which access to records is wrongfully denied,” Lueders said in a statement. “The court’s conservative majority has created new opportunities for authorities to deprive the public of access to public information.”
Both Kamenick and Lueders called on state lawmakers to pass legislation clarifying state records laws in light of Wednesday’s ruling.