Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich and the city on May 20 claimed former City Council member Chris Wery improperly used his elected position to sue the city over allegations of Fourth Amendment and privacy violations, which the city denies.
The city asked that the case be dismissed, maintaining it did not violate state or federal law, in a response filed in federal court through attorney Lori Lubinsky, a partner at Madison-based law firm Axley Brynelson. The city requested that the case be transferred to federal court as several claims by Wery regard federal law.
On March 2, Wery filed a lawsuit in Brown County Circuit Court against Genrich and the city, alleging the installation of audio recording devices in 2021 and 2022 at City Hall violated his state right to privacy and Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches.
His lawsuit came about two years after Green Bay settled a similar suit brought by another City Council member and the Wisconsin Senate in exchange for removing the recording devices. Special prosecutors have since concluded that they had no ability to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Genrich or city employees broke state law with the recording installations.
In its eight-page response, the city denied that Wery had any “reasonable expectation of privacy” for the conversations he had in City Hall corridors. The city also said Wery failed to comply with state law on notice of claim requirements and was “improperly, unlawfully and/or unethically” using his former elected position to bring forward his lawsuit.
The city acknowledged that audio recorders had been installed in front of the City Council chambers around Dec. 8, 2021, and in front of the Clerk’s Office in June 2022, but said “there was no obligation” to tell the City Council or public of their existence. It also denied that Genrich approved their installation or that the mayor’s intention was to monitor conversations of “citizens, government employees, and those he considered political enemies,” as Wery had claimed.
Wery did not immediately respond to a request for an interview.
City Council members in February 2023 raised concerns of audio recorders in City Hall, voting in March 2023 to remove the equipment.
The city issued a fact sheet at the time that said “the Green Bay City Administration felt it necessary to enhance the security system on the first and second floors of City Hall,” referring to reports of some staff and members of the public saying they were verbally assaulted.
Where Wery and previous reports have said that recorders were installed in front of the City Council chambers, the Clerk’s Office, and the Mayor’s Office, the city’s May 20 response denied that any recorders were installed in front of the Mayor’s Office.
The city has said similar audio recording devices exist on its transit system and in the police department lobby. It has also said that public notification is not required to point out their existence, but that the city’s administration decided to put up signs, anyway.
As in its May 20 response, the city has said that the police department could access the audio recording devices. The response also acknowledged the information technology and law departments could also access the recordings. The response said Genrich could access to the recordings, too, but denied that he ever did so.
When taken to court in 2023, the city’s lawyers argued that City Hall was “a quintessential public place.” Ted Waskowski, an attorney representing the city during its lawsuit, said speech could remain private by moving into a closed space, like a closed room, rather than staying in the hallway.
A 2023 analysis by the Wisconsin Legislative Council said that in a place like a government building, things that could provide someone with a “reasonable expectation of privacy” include speaking at a low volume away from others. The city has pointed to the analysis’ conclusion that didn’t “detail serious legal concerns” with the audio recordings and that security cameras with audio recordings didn’t violate Wisconsin’s surveillance laws.
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. He also writes a weekly column answering reader questions about Green Bay. Contact and send him questions at 920-834-4250 or jlin@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay, mayor ask to dismiss lawsuit over City Hall audio recording
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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