Milwaukee Alderman has ignored requests for six months
October 30, 2018 – Milwaukee, WI: On behalf of CRG Advocates, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed an open records lawsuit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court today against Milwaukee Alderman Russell Stamper, II. The lawsuit seeks immediate release of the requested records, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
In March and April of this year, CRG Advocates made three simple record requests to Alderman Stamper: (1) for his phone records; (2) for a copy of his calendar; and (3) emails containing a handful of search terms. The Alderman has ignored the record requests since then, despite letters and phone calls from WILL attorneys insisting that he comply with the Open Records Law.
Orville Seymer, Field Operations Director of CRG, commented, “Alderman Stamper is simply not doing his job. The records I have requested belong to the public and are not his exclusive property.”
“The law requires record custodians to turn over records ‘as soon as practicable and without delay,’” said Attorney Tom Kamenick, Deputy Counsel and open government specialist at WILL. “That doesn’t mean ‘when it’s convenient’ or ‘when I feel like it’ or ‘maybe, if I feel like being nice.’ It means you do it right away; the Attorney General suggests that ten business days is more than enough time to comply with most requests.”
A copy of the complaint and more information about the case can be found here.