News & Commentary

(Capitol Police Chief) Erwin said he plans on enforcing a rule that requires groups of four or more to obtain a permit 72 hours in advance of any activity or displays in the Capitol. The rule was instituted in December of 2011 but has not been enforced since the American Civil Liberties Union raised questions about its constitutionality. Additionally Erwin has enlisted the Department of Justice to handle civil violations. Capitol police have issued 159 citations, ranging from disorderly conduct or resisting arrest, however 118 were dismissed by the Dane County District Attorney’s office.

Those arrested said the American Civil Liberties Union is getting involved and is looking to help them fight their citations. The protesters and their supporters, including some Democratic state lawmakers, have called police tactics heavy-handed, unnecessary and an affront to free speech rights.

"What happened today were individuals who went inside to use their Capitol building for demonstrations, something that could happen any time in our capitol's history," Harbaugh said. She said that while the qualification of signs under the "displays" rule would be a matter for attorneys, the incident itself spoke to the rule's requirement that groups as small as four people get permits "unreasonable and abridges their right to demonstrate and their right to go to the Capitol building and hold signs and protest the government."

Although the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin declined to comment on partisan issues, spokesperson Stacy Harbaugh said the group has various LGBT campaigns at the state level. These include a lawsuit against Wisconsin Family Action and an anti-bullying campaign in Milwaukee, where the ACLU of Wisconsin has a large youth program. “While politicians at the federal level are arguing about these very important issues, there are rights that still need to be defended at the state level, and we are involved with that,” Harbaugh said.

Karyn Rotker, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said she learned last year that agencies such as the Transportation Department are required to have an annually updated plan for complying with Title VI. But when she asked for the plan, she found it was dated 2004.

On August 28, Wisconsin State Senator Mark Miller sent a letter to Capitol Police Chief David Erwin expressing his concerns that the citizens of Wisconsin should have a free and open access to the Capitol building. In a letter of response by Capitol Police Chief David Erwin on August 30, Chief Erwin outlines why he believes permit requirements for political protests are reasonable.

Director Chris Ahmuty is concerned that in ousting the production, DNR used a particular religious view to limit free speech on public property. He’s investigating whether to file a legal complaint over the incident as a free-speech violation. “How far this goes could depend on how fearful SummerStage is about losing their contract for next year,” Ahmuty said. Meanwhile, DNR claims that the play was not canceled due to religious pressure at all, but rather because of a clause in the SummerStage contract that stipulates all productions must be “family-friendly.”

This isn’t the first time WisDOT has been sued over this very issue.  A settlement was reached in 2000, which arose out of a similar lawsuit regarding I-94 corridor planning.  According to The ACLU of Wisconsin, the WisDOT agreed it would “continue to use its best efforts to expand and improve transit service within the Milwaukee Metropolitan Area to enable transit dependent residents of Milwaukee to better access areas of job growth.”  But where are the tangible results of that promise?

Police are looking at cameras to quell crime in places such as the 600 block of University Avenue, which has been the site of a handful of high-profile summer crimes. The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin has asked Wray to define how the cameras would be used, said Stacy Harbaugh, a spokeswoman. "Unfortunately, cameras aren't going to go away," she said. "Once cameras get installed, they're very hard to take out. So it's really important that the rules are clear." There are already 34 cameras downtown, Harbaugh said. They include at least five visible ones high atop the 600 block of University.