Wis. Stat. § 48.396 — WI Code / Chapter 48 / Section 48.396
Section 48.396
Status: in_force

(c)

1g. A court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and ch. 938 , a municipal court exercising jurisdiction under s. 938.17 (2) , or a court of criminal jurisdiction shall keep any information made available to that court under par. (b) 1. confidential and may use or allow access to that information only for the purpose of conducting or preparing for a proceeding in that court. That court may allow that access regardless of whether the person who is allowed that access is a party to or is otherwise involved in the proceedings in which the electronic records containing that information were created.

1m. A person representing the interests of the public under s. 48.09 or 938.09 , an attorney or guardian ad litem for a parent or child who is a party to a proceeding in a court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter or ch. 938 or a municipal court, or a district attorney prosecuting a criminal case shall keep any information made available to that person under par. (b) 1. confidential and may use or allow access to that information only for the purpose of performing his or her official duties relating to a proceeding in a court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and ch. 938 , a municipal court, or a court of criminal jurisdiction. That person may allow that access regardless of whether the person who is allowed that access is a party to or is otherwise involved in the proceedings in which the electronic records containing that information were created.

1r. The department or a county department under s. 46.215 , 46.22 , or 46.23 shall keep any information made available to the department or that county department under par. (b) 1. confidential and may use or allow access to that information only for the purpose of providing services under s. 48.06 , 48.067 , 48.069 , 938.06 , 938.067 , or 938.069 . The department or that county department may allow that access regardless of whether the person who is allowed that access is a party to or is otherwise involved in the proceedings in which the electronic records containing that information were created.

2. The court or the director of state courts may allow access to any information transferred to the court under par. (bm) only to the extent that the information may be disclosed under this chapter or ch. 938 .

3. An individual who is allowed under subd. 1g. , 1m. , 1r. , or 2. to have access to any information transferred or made available under par. (b) 1. or (bm) shall keep the information confidential and may use and further disclose the information only for the purposes described in subd. 1g. , 1m. , or 1r. or to the extent permitted under subd. 2.

(d) Any person who intentionally uses or discloses information in violation of par. (c) may be required to forfeit not more than $5,000.

(5)

(a) Any person who is denied access to a record under sub. (1) , (1b) , (1d) , or (6) may petition the court to order the disclosure of the records governed by the applicable subsection. The petition shall be in writing and shall describe as specifically as possible all of the following:

1. The type of information sought.

2. The reason the information is being sought.

3. The basis for the petitioner’s belief that the information is contained in the records.

4. The relevance of the information sought to the petitioner’s reason for seeking the information.

5. The petitioner’s efforts to obtain the information from other sources.

(b) The court shall notify the child, the child’s counsel, the child’s parents, appropriate law enforcement agencies, and, if the child is an expectant mother of an unborn child under s. 48.133 , the unborn child’s guardian ad litem, or shall notify the adult expectant mother, the unborn child’s guardian ad litem, and appropriate law enforcement agencies, in writing of the petition. If any person notified objects to the disclosure, the court may hold a hearing to take evidence relating to the petitioner’s need for the disclosure.

(c) The court shall make an inspection, which may be in camera, of the records of the child or expectant mother. If the court determines that the information sought is for good cause and that it cannot be obtained with reasonable effort from other sources, the court shall then determine whether the petitioner’s need for the information outweighs society’s interest in protecting its confidentiality. In making that determination, the court shall balance the interest of the petitioner in obtaining access to the record against the interest of the child or expectant mother in avoiding the stigma that might result from disclosure.

(d) If the court determines that disclosure is warranted, it shall order the disclosure of only as much information as is necessary to meet the petitioner’s need for the information.

(e) The court shall record the reasons for its decision to disclose or not to disclose the records of the child or expectant mother. All records related to a decision under this subsection are confidential.

(6) Records of law enforcement officers and of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter and ch. 938 shall be open for inspection to authorized representatives of the department of corrections, the department of health services, the department of justice, or a district attorney for use in the prosecution of any proceeding or any evaluation conducted under ch. 980 , if the records involve or relate to an individual who is the subject of the proceeding or evaluation. The court in which the proceeding under ch. 980 is pending may issue any protective orders that it determines are appropriate concerning information made available or disclosed under this subsection. Any representative of the department of corrections, the department of health services, the department of justice, or a district attorney may disclose information obtained under this subsection for any purpose consistent with any proceeding under ch. 980 .

History: 1971 c. 278 ; 1977 c. 354 s. 47 ; 1977 c. 449 ; Stats. 1977 s. 48.396; 1979 c. 300 ; 1979 c. 333 s. 5 ; 1983 a. 74 s. 32 ; 1983 a. 487 , 538 ; 1985 a. 311 , 332 ; 1987 a. 27 , 180 , 403 ; 1989 a. 31 , 107 , 145 ; 1991 a. 39 , 263 ; 1993 a. 98 , 195 , 228 , 334 , 479 , 491 ; 1995 a. 27 ss. 2479 to 2480m , 9126 (19) ; 1995 a. 77 , 173 , 275 , 352 , 440 , 448 ; 1997 a. 35 , 80 , 191 , 205 , 252 , 292 ; 1999 a. 32 , 89 ; 2003 a. 82 ; 2005 a. 344 , 434 ; 2005 a. 443 s. 265 ; 2007 a. 20 s. 9121 (6) (a) ; 2007 a. 97 ; 2009 a. 302 , 338 ; 2011 a. 270 ; 2013 a. 168 , 170 , 252 ; Sup. Ct. Order No. 14-04 , 2015 WI 89, 364 Wis. 2d xv; 2015 a. 144 ; 2019 a. 95 ; 2025 a. 148 .