Lawsuit against Green Bay, mayor over audio recording devices moves to federal court

A months-long legal fight between the city of Green Bay and the Wisconsin State Senate over the use of audio recording devices in public spaces at city hall moved to federal court this month.

The state Senate, former Green Bay Alder Anthony Theisen, a then-unnamed “Jane Doe” and state Sen. Andre Jacque, R-DePere, sued the city and Mayor Eric Genrich in February, arguing the use of audio recording devices in city hall was illegal.

According to the city, it installed audio recording devices in three of the 14 security cameras in city hall starting in late 2021. The city did not install signage notifying the public they could be recorded until after the existence of the devices was disclosed at a February city council meeting. The next month, the council voted to remove audio devices from city hall and to destroy the recordings when the lawsuit is resolved.

The Jane Doe plaintiff in the lawsuit was later identified as Janet Angus, a local resident who the city says was involved in incidents that led to the installation of audio recording devices. Angus was removed from the suit in an amended civil complaint filed in circuit court last month.

Claims added to the new complaint allowed the city and Genrich to move the case to federal court, according to the filing from the city that shifted the case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The move cancels a trial scheduled for next spring in Brown County Circuit Court.

In the amended civil complaint, the plaintiffs ask for a court to declare the city’s use of recording devices violated Wisconsin’s electronic surveillance control law, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the state constitution. Theisen and Jacque say their private conversations in City Hall were recorded without consent. Plaintiffs are also seeking payment for alleged damages.

“None of these communications would have been overheard by third parties but for Defendants’ unlawful surveillance program,” the amended complaint reads.

Beyond a civil suit, Green Bay’s use of audio recording devices has also spawned an investigation by the West Allis Police Department to determine if criminal charges should be filed against anyone from the city, according to WLUK-TV and the amended complaint.

The controversy came during Genrich’s reelection campaign, in which he framed the lawsuit against the city as political.

“It’s very clear who is behind this politically motivated attack on the city government,” Genrich said at a League of Women Voters candidate forum ahead of the April election.

City officials have said the devices were installed in response to security concerns at City Hall. In court filings, the city detailed several incidents. In one case, Angus “verbally assaulted” the city clerk in front of a voter returning an absentee ballot in April 2022. Another involved a group of people doing the same to a journalist for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Genrich and his opponent, Chad Weininger, both received threats ahead of the April election.

Genrich ultimately won his reelection bid, but the lawsuit continued. Before the case moved to federal court, a three-day trial was set to begin in circuit court on May 20, 2024.

The city and the West Allis Police Department did not respond to requests for comment. Ryan Walsh, an attorney representing the state Senate, declined to comment.

A scheduling conference has been set for Thursday, Oct. 5 at 9:30 a.m. before Senior District Judge William Griesbach.