Wisconsin Newspress, Inc. v. School District of Sheboygan Falls

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| Wisconsin Newspress, Inc.| vs.| School District of Sheboygan Falls

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Number:|  199 Wis. 2d 769, 780, 546 N.W.2d 143
Year:|  1996
State:|  Wisconsin
Court:|  Wisconsin Supreme Court
Other lawsuits in Wisconsin
Other lawsuits in 1996
Precedents include:
This case established that internal investigation records concerning the discipline of public employee are not all exempt but must be considered on a case by case basis using a balancing test weighing the public interest in disclosure against the public interest in withholding the records.

## Contents

* 1 Important precedents
* 2 Background
* 3 Ruling of the court
* 4 Associated cases
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

Sunshine Laws

How to Make Records Requests
Sunshine Litigation
Sorted by State, Year and Topic
Sunshine Nuances
Deliberative Process Exemption

Wisconsin Newspress, Inc. v. School District of Sheboygan Falls was a case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1996 concerning open records requests.

## Important precedents[edit]

This case established that internal investigation records concerning the discipline of public employees are not all exempt but must be considered on a case by case basis using a balancing test weighing the public interest in disclosure against the public interest in withholding the records.

## Background[edit]

* In February and March of 1994, Wisconsin Newspress Inc. submitted a records request to the school district of Sheboygan Falls for all information relating to disciplinary investigations relating to a past district administrator, Norman Frakes.
* The district released a select number of documents but rejected the remaining requests claiming that the documents contained personal information, exempt under state law.
* Newspress filed suit in district court.
* The court ruled in favor of the school district.
* Newspress appealed the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

## Ruling of the court[edit]

The trial court ruled in favor of the city, citing Armada Broadcasting, Inc. v. Stirn, which, the circuit court claims, exempted all public employee disciplinary records.

The Supreme Court overruled the decision of the trial court and ordered a majority of the records exempt.

The Supreme Court determined that the case presented by the trial court did in fact provide an exception for some public employee disciplinary investigations, but still required a case by case examination of the facts. This case by case examination required the application of the balancing test established by Newspapers Inc. v. Breier and cited in Woznicki v. Erickson, in order to determine if release of the records ran counter to the public interest. Based on this test, the court determined that the public interest in monitoring the behavior of public officials outweighs the individual public official's interest in privacy. Based on this test, the court ordered the document released. However, the court held that the second document in question, a letter between the District attorney and the school district is protected from attorney client privilege. Thus the court overturned the majority of the circuit courts ruling but still maintained some of the documents exempt.

## Associated cases[edit]

* Armada Broadcasting, Inc. v. Stirn
* Newspapers Inc. v. Breier
* Woznicki v. Erickson

## See also[edit]

## External links[edit]

* Ruling of the Court

## Footnotes[edit]

Wisconsin sunshine lawsuits

| Lawsuit  | Year

|

Armada Broadcasting, Inc. v. Stirn | 1994
Cavey v. Walrath | 1999
Hathaway v. Green Bay School District | 1984
Hempel v. City of Baraboo | 2005
Lautenschlager v. Gunderson | 2008
Linzmeyer v. D.J. Forcey | 2002
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel v. Department of Administration | 2008
Newspapers Inc. v. Breier | 1979
Sands v. Whitnall School District | 2008
State ex rel. Newspapers Inc. v. Showers | 1987
State of Wisconsin v. Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation | 2008
WIREdata, Inc. v. Village of Sussex | 2008
Watton v. Hegerty | 2008
Wisconsin Newspress, Inc. v. School District of Sheboygan Falls | 1996
Woznicki v. Erickson | 1996
Zellner v. Cedarburg School District | 2007
Zellner v. Herrick | 2009
International Union, UAW v. Gooding | 1947