PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A lawsuit challenging the use of surveillance cameras within Green Bay City Hall that could record audio has been moved to federal court.
Green Bay installed the security cameras with audio-recording capability 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. Just last week, a Brown County judge scheduled a May 20, 2024 trial in the case.
However, the plaintiffs — the Wisconsin State Senate, State Sen. Andre Jacque, and former Green Bay Ald. Tony Theisen — have now moved the case to federal court. It lists the City of Green Bay and Mayor Eric Genrich as defendants.
The federal filing simply incorporates the complaint which had been filed previously in state court. The city has not formally responded to the federal suit. In state court, it raised several issues of why it believed the suit should be dismissed, including the timing of the suit.
A scheduling conference is set before a federal judge on Oct. 5.
Under state law, one party to a private conversation must consent for it to be recorded as long as there is reasonable expectation for privacy. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit contend there is an expectation for privacy in the hallways of city hall, while Mayor Eric Genrich’s administration maintains there is no expectation of privacy in the those spaces.
Meanwhile, there is a separate criminal investigation under way to determine if installation and operation of the devices broke any law. Both the West Allis Police Department, which is investigating the installation of the cameras, and Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said the investigation continues, and no conclusions have been made.
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