PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Initial briefs have been filed in a lawsuit challenging the use of surveillance cameras within Green Bay City Hall, debating whether the case should be dismissed before trial.
Green Bay installed the security cameras with audio-recording capability sometime before December 2021. In August 2022, Janet Angus requested details of audio surveillance equipment, which the city provided. A lawsuit was filed in February 2023, shortly before the mayoral election. A week later, the city’s Park Committee recommended the ending of the recordings. A judge entered a temporary order to halt it on March 2. Days later, the City Council prohibited audio surveillance at City Hall.
The plaintiffs — the Wisconsin State Senate, State Sen. Andre Jacque, and former Green Bay Ald. Tony Theisen — sued the City of Green Bay and Mayor Eric Genrich. Although a Brown County judge scheduled a trial, the city had the case moved the case to federal court in September.
In its most recent filing, Green Bay argued the case should be dismissed.
“Belying nefarious intent, staff were notified of the installation of the devices, and requests for materials were analyzed as public records requests. Ultimately, the City of Green Bay’s Common Council used its authority to transfer control of City Hall audio surveillance technology to itself and voted to end any audio surveillance within City Hall. To that end, an underlying disagreement over policy related to the maintenance of audio capabilities resolved as any policy disagreement should- through a political process whereby a government entity used its authority to implement a change in said policy,” attorney Kyle Engelke wrote. “The vague and conclusory nature of Plaintiffs’ claims is a symptom of the underlying defects in the pleading – namely that the constitutional parameters favor Defendants, Plaintiffs cannot identify the precise circumstances that warrant relief, and Defendants are immune from suit altogether. As such, each of Plaintiffs’ claims warrant dismissal before any further government resources are drained into an otherwise resolved matter.”
The plaintiffs responded Friday, arguing there are issues for the court to review, so it should not be dismissed.
“As a result of the Mayor’s outrageous decision to indiscriminately eavesdrop on every visitor and elected official in Green Bay City Hall, Defendants intercepted and recorded countless private conversations for over a year without notice or a warrant,” wrote attorney Ryan Walsh. “Plaintiffs had a reasonable expectation that these confidential conversations would remain private because (1) there were no signs alerting the public that audio surveillance was occurring, (2) the hallways are frequently used to hold such conversations, (3) the hallways were otherwise deserted, and (4) Plaintiffs spoke in low tones to avoid being overheard. The Mayor’s calculated decision to spy on Wisconsinites was thus a clear violation of both state and federal law.”
No hearings are currently scheduled in the case. The judge could issue a written ruling.
Meanwhile, there is a separate criminal investigation under way to determine if installation and operation of the devices broke any law.
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