The clerk's office, responding through the county's corporation counsel, said that Grebner's staff could use the digital camera and the laptop to copy the requested documents as long as it would not damage the documents. Instead of using the camera or computer, Grebner filed suit demanding that he be allowed to copy these documents with his own photocopying machine. Both sides agreed that the trial court could resolve the issue on summary judgment. The trial court granted judgment to the county, concluding that Wis. Stat. To resolve this issue, we must interpret Wis. Stat.
Statutory interpretation is a question of law and is subject to our de novo review.
The goal of statutory interpretation is to ascertain the intent of the legislature, and to discern this intent we look first to the plain language of the statute. If the statute's language is clear, we look no further and simply apply the statute to the facts and circumstances before us. In light of the undisputed facts, we initially clarify what this case is not about. It is not about whether Grebner was denied access to the public records. Nor is it about whether Grebner was denied the right to copy the records.