Another judge rules Speaker Robin Vos violated public records law in 2020 election review
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MADISON – A second Wisconsin judge has determined Assembly Speaker Robin Vos violated the state's public records law by neglecting requests for documents and communication related to a review of the 2020 election spearheaded by Assembly Republicans.
In a ruling issued Friday, Dane County Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn said Vos violated the state's law requiring public officials to release records related to their work and other taxpayer-funded endeavors by delaying a response to a records request for six months without explanation and failing to respond to a request for records from a specific day.
The decision is another in a string of rulings and orders from Dane County judges in recent months that have criticized Vos and the leader of the election review, former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, for what the judges have characterized as a lack of respect for the state's public records law.
At issue are records and communication sought under the state's records law by the liberal group American Oversight.
"The Wisconsin public records law does more than protect the public’s rights to the 'greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government,'" Bailey-Rihn wrote. "The law also requires our government to respond to records requests 'as soon as practicable and without delay…'"
A spokeswoman for Vos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Joe Biden beat Donald Trump in Wisconsin by about 21,000 votes. Recounts and court rulings confirmed his win, but Republicans have said they wanted an additional review of the election.
In March, Dane County Judge Frank Remington ruled Vos and Gableman violated the state's public records law by refusing to turn over some documents to American Oversight in a separate case and delayed the release of others
On Friday, Bailey-Rihn ordered Vos to hand over records sought by American Oversight within 20 days. She also ruled American Oversight did not prove Vos demonstrated “arbitrary and capricious” conduct in the matter and did not deserve punitive damages.
The judge ruled last month that Vos would not face penalties after being held in contempt but would determine later whether he should be penalized for how Vos has handled records requests related to the election review.
Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Robin Vos violated records law in 2020 election review, judge rules
