Court Opinion

ID: 9685923
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 15:08:32.504922+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:18:11.348764
License: Public Domain

SCHUDSON, J.
¶ 28. (dissenting). Because the record establishes that the Milwaukee Public Schools' records custodian carried out the balancing test, required by Woznicki v. Erickson, 202 Wis. 2d 178, 549 N.W.2d 699 (1996), without accurate and appropriate consideration of federal law, I would remand.
*261¶ 29. On October 13, 2000, Michael Turza, MPS Director of Business Services, advised the bus companies:
After performing the balancing test required by law, I have determined that the public interest in releasing the rosters outweighs the harm to the public interest in permitting inspection. Accordingly, after conferring with the City Attorney's Office, I have determined that it is appropriate to provide the requester with access to the rosters.
Mr. Turza's determination, apparently, was based on the October 10, 2000 letter from City Attorney Grant F. Langley and Assistant City Attorney Roxane L. Crawford answering MPS Deputy Superintendent Willie Jude's inquiry on how to respond to Fox 6 News' request for the bus driver rosters. The City Attorney's eight-page letter, while thorough and thoughtful in many respects, misconceived the relevant federal law in one critical way.
¶ 30. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA), 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-2725, prohibits state departments of motor vehicles from releasing "personal information," which the DPPA defines as:
information that identifies an individual, including an individual's photograph, social security number, driver identification number, name, address (but not the 5-digit zip code), telephone number, and medical or disability information, but does not include information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver's status.
18 U.S.C. § 2725(3). The bus companies concede that although the DPPA would preclude the state motor vehicle department from releasing the information requested in this case, it would not preclude MPS from *262doing so. Significantly, however, the bus companies point out, and the City agrees, that, under Kraemer Bros., Inc. v. Dane County, 229 Wis. 2d 86, 599 N.W.2d 75 (Ct. App. 1999), a custodian of records, when balancing the interests for and against disclosure, properly considers the extent to which relevant federal law provides guidance.
¶ 31. MPS correctly contends that by excluding driving records from the federal definition of "personal information," see 18 U.S.C. § 2725(3), Congress made a "clear statement that the public has a strong interest in gaining access to an individual [bus driver's driving] record." But, inexplicably, MPS ignores the critical distinction between a bus driver's driving record and his or her identity. While, on the one hand, the federal law specifically exempts "information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver's status" from the definition of protected "personal information," it does not exempt the "information that identifies an individual." See 18 U.S.C. § 2725(3).
¶ 32. Failing to acknowledge this critical distinction, the City Attorney failed to account for the possibility that, consistent with the apparent policy of the DPPA, MPS could both disclose "information on vehicular accidents, driving violations, and driver's status" and, at the same time, maintain the privacy of "personal information" — "information that identifies an individual, including an individual's photograph, social security number, driver identification number, name, address (but not the 5-digit zip code), telephone number, and medical or disability information." See 18 U.S.C. § 2725(3).
¶ 33. The bus companies offer a clear and compelling argument: "Simply put, the drafters of the DPPA could never have intended that other government agen*263cies be compelled to disclose precisely the same 'personal information' protected by the DPPA... They may be correct. Here, however, MPS, misunderstanding the most critical component of the relevant federal law, could not have considered its disclosure options and, therefore, could not truly have considered the bus companies' argument.
¶ 34. A proper balancing test, under Woznicki and Kraemer Bros., required an accurate reading of the DPPA. MPS, relying on the City Attorney, failed to recognize the critical distinction drawn by the DPPA and, therefore, failed to consider the possible propriety of disclosing the drivers' driving records while, at the same time, protecting the drivers' identities. Thus, the case should be remanded for MPS to properly weigh the competing interests and determine whether, and to what extent, disclosure is appropriate. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.