A Dane County judge has stayed his ruling ordering the Department of Justice to release videos of training sessions led by Republican attorney general candidate Brad Schimel.
Judge Richard Neiss said he issued the stay to allow the DOJ to ask an appeals court to weigh in. He said if the tapes were released Monday, he would be denying the state its right to appeal.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is seeking the release of the videos recorded in 2009 and 2013 because they believe Schimel made inappropriate comments while training other prosecutors how to convict Internet child sex predators. The party says voters have a right to see what Schimel said before going to the polls.
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Schimel said information on the videos could help predators avoid conviction, but Judge Richard Niess rejected that argument.
“The record is completely devoid of any facts to support that these tapes are critical to the prosecution of sex crimes and sensitive crimes against children, and critical to protecting the dignity and respect for victims,” said Niess.
Niess also said he believes there is nothing earth-shaking on the tapes.
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