Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
By: Patrick Marley
Madison -- A liberal advocacy group is suing Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth, saying he did not produce an e-mail he was required to release under the state's open records law.
One Wisconsin Now posted a copy of the lawsuit Tuesday that it was filing against Southworth, who drew criticism this spring when he told area schools teachers could be criminally prosecuted if they followed the state's new sex education curriculum.
The group alleged Southworth was politically motivated when he released some but not all of the e-mails it requested in April.
The group requested e-mails related to his views on the new sex ed law on April 1. Southworth on April 16 gave the group e-mails and letters to that effect.
On July 19 -- the day an effort to recall Southworth failed because supporters could not gather enough signatures -- Southworth told OWN he had also received an e-mail on March 25 sent to multiple people by Jolene Churchill, the head of Working for Wisconsin Families and an aide to state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend).
OWN later learned Southworth sent Churchill on March 24 a copy of the letter he sent to school districts warning them teachers could be charged if they followed the law on sex education.
"On information and belief, Southworth delayed publicly disclosing that he had sent Churchill a copy of his letter to the school board members and administrators concerning 2009 Wisconsin Act 134, and that she had copied him on her e-mail forwarding the letter to "Friends" of her political advocacy group, to conceal his political motivation for those communications until the time for gathering signatures to support the recall petition had expired," the lawsuit says.
The new law requires schools to tell students about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases if they have sex education courses. That has upset proponents of abstinence-only courses, and Southworth argued telling students how to use condoms could lead to criminal prosecutions because it is illegal for children under 18 to have sex. Supporters of the law called Southworth's position laughable.
OWN is seeking a court order requiring Southworth to release all records and to pay its legal fees. It has hired Robert Dreps as its attorney. Dreps has represented the Journal Sentinel and many other Wisconsin media outlets in past open records cases.
