Are Milwaukee County Records Public?

Yes. Under specific state laws and regulations, members of the public have the right to access and request copies of different records generated and preserved by Milwaukee County's local governmental bodies and elective officials. One prominent example of such laws is the Wisconsin Open Records Law.

Set forth in Wis. Stat. § 19.31 to 19.39, the Wisconsin Open Records Law governs how interested persons and entities can request public records. The law also establishes the general public’s rights to access records containing information about government affairs and official acts of governmental bodies. Under the law, these records include materials such as handwritten and typed documents, printed pages, maps, charts, photographs, films, recordings, tapes, optical discs, and any other medium used to store information.

In addition to the Wisconsin Open Records Law, statutes like Wis. Stat. § 59.20(3) grants requesters the right to examine public Milwaukee county court records and related documents.

What is Exempted Under the Wisconsin Public Records Act?

The Wisconsin Public Record Act establishes that the general public has a right to access government records. However, several statutes outlined in the act limit public access to certain types of records. These records are considered exempted from the act's provisions, deemed confidential, and inaccessible to the general public. Some examples of these exempt records are outlined in Wis. Stat. § 19.36, and they include but are not limited to:

• Investigative information preserved by law enforcement agencies (in certain cases)
• Law enforcement informants' identities
• Trade secrets
• Patient health care information
• Private employee information
• Law enforcement, agency, and court records concerning children and juveniles
• Social security numbers
• Attorney-client communication
• The identity of a public position applicant (in certain cases)
• Personally identifiable information that contains an individual's account or customer number with a financial institution, such as debit card numbers, checking account numbers, credit card numbers, or draft account numbers.

These exempt records are typically only accessible to eligible individuals or entities, such as those with a tangible interest in the record or under the authority of a court order. These may include the record’s subject and government entities requiring it for legal functions, like a court during a relevant case.

The Wisconsin Public Record Act also authorizes legal custodians to conduct a "balancing test" to determine whether they should release a record to the general public. This test is performed on a case-by-case basis and determines whether the public interest served by disclosing a record outweighs the public interest served by the record's nondisclosure.

Milwaukee County Public Records Search

In Milwaukee County, individuals interested in conducting a public record search must first and foremost ascertain the legal custodian of the sought record. Milwaukee County does not have a general custodian for public records. Instead, different county departments and public offices preserve public records concerning their official duties. For instance, public real estate documents are strictly accessible through the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds office. Hence, ascertaining the legal custodian of a desired record is essential to conducting a successful Milwaukee County public record search.

Nonetheless, the MyCounty Customer Portal, hosted on the Milwaukee County website, allows record seekers to request public records maintained by applicable departments. Users must log in or register an account to search for or request public records through the portal. Note that requests for certain records through the portal may be subject to a fee, and the portal will provide users with a cost estimate if the anticipated amount exceeds $50.

Note that the MyCounty Customer Portal does not allow users to request records maintained by the County Register of Deeds Office, Community Reintegration Center (CRC), Medical Examiner, Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, and District Attorney. Record seekers must contact these departments, agencies, or public entities directly to access or request public records they maintain. In most cases, these agencies accept in-person requests or provide dedicated request forms interested persons can use to request public records they maintain. An example is the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office online public record request form.

Requesters are generally required to provide information about the sought record when conducting a Milwaukee County public record search to assist the legal custodian in efficiently identifying the record.

Find Public Records For Free in Milwaukee County

Interested persons can find public records in Milwaukee County through official channels for free by visiting the desired record’s legal custodian during regular working hours to search and inspect the record. Most custodians allow record seekers to inspect public records they maintain for free in person. However, requests for record copies are usually subject to a fee to cover the legal custodian’s cost of reproducing requested copies.

Another feasible way to find Milwaukee County public records for free is online through third-party aggregate websites. These websites typically host a searchable database containing public records retrieved from different government agencies. Due to the sheer amount of public records in their database, these third-party aggregate websites can be one-stop points for finding most Milwaukee County public records. The minimum criteria for conducting searches on most third-party aggregate websites is a subject's first and last name or case number.

It is important to note that most third-party aggregate websites are not affiliated with government entities, and the accuracy and completeness of their records are not guaranteed. Hence, it is advised to compare records from these websites with those collected from official sources to verify them.

How to Remove Information From Public Records Free

In Milwaukee County, information may be removed from public records for free through a legal process called expungement. However, only certain convictions and juvenile adjudications are expungable under Wisconsin Law, provided they meet the legal requirements outlined in Wis. Stat. § 973.015. A court of relevant jurisdiction handles the expungement process, and eligible persons can apply for expungement by completing Form CR-266 and filing it with the appropriate circuit court. Interested persons can get Form CR-266 through the Wisconsin Court System Circuit Court Form website.

Who Can Access Milwaukee County Public Records in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin Open Records Law states that anyone besides committed or incarcerated individuals can access Milwaukee County public records except as otherwise provided by law. Furthermore, requesters are not required to be county or state residents to access public record law under the Wisconsin Public Record Law.

What Happens if I Am Refused a Public Records Request?

Although Wisconsin Public Records Law establishes the general public’s right to access Milwaukee County public records, the legal custodian of a record can deny a public records request in specific circumstances. These include but are not limited to the following:

• The record is exempt from disclosure due to a state or federal statute
• The requester provided insufficient information in their request to identify the desired record.
• A balancing test warrants the record’s non-disclosure.

If a requester is dissatisfied with the response or the lack of response from a legal custodian when they request a public record, they can obtain a court order for the record’s release. A record release court order can be requested by filing an action for mandamus with a court of appropriate jurisdiction. According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, an individual can pursue a mandamus action in one of three ways:

• File the action with or without an attorney's assistance.
• Submit a written request for enforcement to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office.
• Submit a written request to Wisconsin’s Attorney General to file a mandamus action.