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Attorney general creates open records office (UPDATE)

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//June 1, 2015//

Attorney general creates open records office (UPDATE)

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//June 1, 2015//

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The Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office’s new hire will oversee a new department dedicated to open records matters.

Newly hired Assistant District Attorney Paul Ferguson will lead the department, according to a news release. He will be assisted by a paralegal and legal assistant. All three positions have been vacant, so the number of positions at the DOJ won’t change.

Ferguson earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School. He has done appellate work before the U.S. and Wisconsin Supreme courts.

Attorney General Brad Schimel said the DOJ had about five to six dozen open record requests waiting to be fulfilled when he took office in January. Kevin Potter, deputy administrator of the Division of Legal Services, has served as the agency’s records custodian, but Schimel said Potter has many other things to do.

The new department, the Office for Open Government, will be responsible for interpreting and applying rules and statutes such as the Open Meetings and Public Records laws, responses to public records requests and legal counsel on related topics.

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.

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