Ignorance of the law is no excuse

It isn’t much punishment if you get caught doing something wrong but agree not to do it again. Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski has agreed to make changes to how her office responds to open records requests after a court settlement with a conservative group. The Institute for Reforming Government announced the settlement after Godlewski failed to comply with their request for emails between her and her predecessor. They hoped to find evidence that Godlewski’s selection to succeed Doug La Follette was prearranged behind the scenes, and that the emails would show that. They didn’t. But the bigger point is that it took a court fight to get her to provide the public records. First she told the group she didn’t have any emails that matched their request. A month later, she turned over emails La Follette had sent, but not on official state accounts. It doesn’t matter if emails were sent from a public or private account, if it involves official state business, it is a matter of public record. Godlewski admits no guilt as part of the settlement, but as a state department head she should know the laws.  She promises going forward to respond to open records requests “as soon as practicable and without delay.” Which is exactly what the law says government agencies must do. Godlewski knows that, and should be setting a better example for other levels of government