WEST BEND, WI (WSAU) – A judge in Washinton County ordered the Wisconsin Parole Commission to release public records from earlier this year.
The conservative website Wisconsin Right Now has been posting daily stories about criminals who’ve been paroled under the Evers Administration through 2021. They filed an open records request for the names of parolees from this year.
Judge Michael Kenitz ruled that the parole board “unjustifiably withheld and refused to release remaining records to which the plaintiff is entitled.” The lawsuit was filed by the Wisconsin Institute of Law and Liberty. The open records request dates back to May.
Wisconsin Right Now also argued that the Evers Administration is in violation of state law by not notifying victims of the releases.
The Evers Administration says the parole commission is a quasi-independent board and that the governor does not control their actions. Governor Evers did appoint the commission’s chair, John Tate.