(Still From Campaign Ad)
Candidate for DA, Carli McNeill, recently featured a political commercial that was filmed in the Kenosha County Courthouse with State employees during business hours. KCE received many tips asking about the ethics of this. The Kenosha County Courthouse is the only courthouse in the State in which photography of any kind is prohibited in the common areas. You need the permission of the Clerk of Courts, Rebecca Matoska (D) to film in theses areas. Carli asked Matoska for permission and Matoska, her friend and fellow democrat gave the permission. Carli’s opponent, local attorney Xavier Solis asked for the same permission and gave Matoska two different days and was denied for both of those days requested.
(Facebook.com)
We asked Matoska why she allowed a political ad to be filmed in the courthouse and she didn’t respond directly, but gave the following response:
“Permission to film and photograph in the building was made following review of the request. The request was allowed with certain parameter, including a time when there would be little to no disruption in court activities, nominal intrusion on public having dealings in the courthouse, and a minimal chance that contact would be made with confidential informants, jurors, victims and juveniles.”
KCE looked at the Kenosha and State of Wisconsin Court Rules for guidance:
KENOSHA – CR 1-6 PHOTOGRAPHING, BROADCASTING, AND RECORDING
No one may take any photographs of, make any recordings in, or make any broadcasts from
any of the courtrooms, jury rooms adjacent to the courtrooms and adjacent areas, or the
corridors, without first obtaining permission from the person in charge of those areas. These
prohibitions do not apply to ceremonial proceedings.
Supreme Court – SCR CHAPTER 61
SCR 61.12 Inapplicability to individuals; use of material for advertising prohibited.
The privileges granted by this chapter to photograph, televise and record court proceedings may be exercised only by persons or organizations which are part of the news media. Film, videotape, photography and audio reproductions shall not be used for unrelated advertising purposes.
As for the three State employees? We asked Kenosha DA Mike Graveley why he allowed them to participate in the commercial. He didn’t respond. A spokesman for the DA’s office told us that ADA O’Donnell took one hour of “comp time” and DDA McNeill took two hours of “comp time.” Seemingly, ADA Tombasco (D) got paid for shooting the commercial. He is a vocal supporter of McNeill and has been vocal on social media, trashing her opponent. ADA Bauer later reduced her hours by one. They also used their taxpayer-funded emails to coordinate the commercial, which is apparent in the subject line:
KCE asked McNeill about the appropriateness and ethics behind the commercial. She replied “I did ask for and receive permission to film in the courthouse.”
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
KCE asked then-Chief Judge Jason Rossell (D) to eliminate the rule that prohibits photography in the common areas of the courthouse. He declined to change the rule, citing federal court guidelines that he knew or should have known have no bearing in Wisconsin. It is unknown if he conferred with the other judges before he unilaterally decided against, in opposition of other leaders in the community. Rossell didn’t have an issue with McNeill’s commercial, despite him prohibiting others from photographing. It seems Rossell wants only his friends to have that ability.
42 Responses
A bunch of corrupt POS prosecutors. They all should get fired. McNeill showed poor leadership and showed us that she is not fit to run that office. The corruption will continue with her. Now I know why they call her Crooked Carli.
Corrupt as all heck , until we get these people out this is what we will have ,
No use whining about it the slimy crap the presumed new DA is involved in….
Only solution….VOTE While you at it talk to two or three other people and go vote and get coffee and lunch afterwards.
VOTE!
SCR 61 is limited to court proceedings. That said, Mr. Solis should have equivalent accommodation. If he can’t do that, then it’s on him.
What do you mean when you say “it’s on him?” If you read the story, he was denied access from the very person who granted access to his opponent
According to your story, he was apparently denied because the request might interfere with courthouse business. If true, that’s on him. But if he asked for the same time frame and circumstances as his opponent received and was denied, then that’s on the clerk of courts. The devil is in the detail.
No I certainly did not say anything about him being denied because it interfered with courthouse business. You must have learned that on your own. Is this Becky? Is this somebody from the DA’s office? Somebody from the McNeill campaign?
I misread the story. Becky said that granted McNeil’s request because it didn’t interfere with courthouse business, etc. My mistake. Mea culpa. If Mr. Solis made an equivalent request and was denied, then she is aptly subject to criticism for it.
Another thing you touched on but did not elaborate is use of state E-mail for political purposes by state employees. The attorneys in the DA’s office are state employees. Clerical and victim assistance staff are county employees. Asking to have comp time deducted is not a political purpose but arranging schedules, etc., for the video shoot would be. Would be interesting to see if there are any such E-mails and if there are any violations of state work rules. If you haven’t asked for those E-mails (if they exist), I hope you will. The attorney staff is subject to state law and work rules of the Wisconsin Department of Administration.
I agree with you that there should be some relaxation of the “no recording/photography without permission” in some of the common areas of the courthouse. Taken literally, it would apply to wedding parties taking photos before, after or during a wedding which seems a bit onerous.
P.S.: I’m making spaghetti for dinner and wondered why my sauce was cold after 15 minutes on the stove.
Helps to turn the gas on.
How’s your day going?
Thanks for a break in all the drama.😊
How is it “on him”, when he asked and was denied?
Well if it turns out the four employees on the stairs have a new boss it might not prove the have been a good career move participating in a campaign ad……
Solis can hire me. I know the law, I’m non-partisan, and I’d never appear in an advertisement for a political candidate while employed by the courts.
Call me Xavier!
How is he supposed to call you when you don’t give your name? 🤣
Your report does not come as a surprise. Mr. Solis should be granted authorization to film a video for an equivalent duration. Should Mrs. Matoska deny this request, we, the people, will undertake the necessary administrative and legal measures to ensure equitable treatment for all candidates. In the end, she and her liberal associates should not act as if they own our courthouse.
Who cares? Are people in this county that stupid that they are going to give anymore deference to a candidate because they have a campaign ad in a courthouse?
Plus, if they changed this law and prohibited photography or video in common areas, wouldn’t this be bad for this site?
Up until now I have had no problems voting for matasca because I feel things have been run well in City Hall in that office. Now I will have a reason to vote differently. Like many people, I’ve had no problems in the past splitting my ticket, even though I usually end up voting for all Republican candidates. If the clerk of courts makes it political then I have no choice but to vote against her for supporting a piece of poop championed by a ton of poop.
People try to be non partisan but eventually they can’t help themselves. Truth comes out.
Brilliant.
The topic jurisdiction is Kenosha County not City Hall.
The name is Matoska-Mentink.
And the office is Clerk of Circuit Court, not clerk of courts. It is one Circuit Court, having 8 branches. It’s a pity that whoever maintains the http://www.kenoshacounty.org does not know this.
Kenosha’s Carli McNeill and Racine’s Pat Hansen—–Yummy Yummy!
Becky and Carli – oink oink
No self respect. Fat pig
Taking down comments pointing out your flawed logic and telling the truth about Solis. C’mon.
Rebecca is just preserving democracy by allowing one party to film and the other gets denied.
Rules for thee, but not for me ……..
This is just like when Iverson filmed in courtroom 300 and said it was OK because it was “her” courtroom. It is the county’s courtroom and only hers when on the bench on her official capacity. So either she filmed during her official capacity (unethical) or filmed without permission (unethical).
Not sure why the attorneys in town cannot follow ethics rules when they are running for judge and DA.
Oh, unclench. All court officials refer to their courtroom as theirs. Just like you call your room in your office building your office. No explanation is necessary that you don’t legally own it.
Why hasn’t candidate Solis (as of this date) accepted the Kenosha County Bar Association’s invitation to an open forum on Wednesday, Oct
23? Is he afraid to confront difficult questions as to whether he has failed to meet his professional obligation to the Courts and his clients?
No. He isn’t participating becuase you and all the other members are liberals. How can he get a fair shake?
Anyway, is Solis only going to be the DA for conservative victims? If he will represent all, then perhaps he should hear from liberals, assuming attorneys are all liberals. Which they are not…
Being a DA requires going by the laws, black and white, regardless of who the victim is. A forum isn’t run by laws and doesn’t have black and white lines – it’s about feelings, opinions, biases, and political persuasions. Not bothering to get railroaded by a biased, one-sided panel does not have any relevance to a person’s willingness or ability to practice law according to the books.
Kamala Harris was interviewed on Fox News. But in any event, not all lawyers are liberals.
So, if that’s the logic model we’re using. Will he only participate in trials he knows he can win? Will he only prosecute cases he knows he’ll win? Will he refuse to collaborate or pariticapte with anyone who opposes his views? None of this behaviror gives me a feeling he’ll stand up for the law or what’s right despite it maybe being unpopular. This isn’t a job for the weak and he’s demonstrating a lack of ability to fight for what’s right or to stand up to the bad guys. Give me a break already….
I am undecided who to vote for. I like both candidates but undecided which to vote for. I wanted to hear more from Xavier, especially as he has never served as a prosecutor. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but I want to hear about his vision and plans. Same thing from Carli.
Contact him or attend one of the many meet and greets. He is very available! Making yourself available to the public for their questions is different than allowing yourself to be set up by a known one-sided event!!
We cannot continue to allow radicals like Carly and friends have positions of power. They are unethical and do NOT care about Kenosha!! If you say you are a Republican but are supporting Carly, you are voting in a liberal who will put criminals first and will not keep Kenosha safe… you can tell yourself otherwise but you’d be lying to yourself!
The Kenosha County Bar Association (and like organizations in other communities) for many years hosts candidate forums. This is no different. The recent judicial candidate forum was fair and balanced and gave insights about both candidates. It was not a “set up.”
Being a prosecutor — and especially the elected prosecutor — is a tough job. Nobody ever wins an election by promising to be soft on crime. But I want the candidates to tell the community how they plan to use the resources allocated by the state to effectively deal with crime in the community. Also, how will each of them interact with law enforcement agencies, criminal justice partners and the communities. The DA’s office right now seems to be out of touch and isolated from the community. What will each candidate do to improve this and set appropriate prosecution priorities? What do each think the role of district attorney is? What are the public safety priorities that they will identify?These are not “set up” questions but real issues.
This ^. He is super available and doing many events around town… Our just shoot him a message!
Mr. Mayew,
The prosecutors in the courthouse are held to way higher standards than you, or at least that’s the way it is supposed to be. This article is describing how four attorneys are in violation of the rules that only this courthouse enforces, but then the Clerk of Courts claims that authorization was requested and of course she granted it. Not to both candidates, but only to the one that belongs to her political party.
Doubts remain about whether the requests from Mc Neil for filming and compensatory time were properly submitted before these matters came to the attention of the KCE.
It is noteworthy that the current membership of the Democratic social club to which you belong appears to resist the inclusion of younger candidates with innovative ideas, particularly if that candidate is of Latino descent rather than white, from holding public office. It appears that efforts are being made by the establishment to hinder the success of individuals not affiliated with the club.
The era of your social club’s dominance is approaching its conclusion. An impending change is on the horizon that will alter the status quo. After November 5th, those whom you are currently defending will be required to account to Madison for their actions.
Lastly, it may be advisable to maintain your focus on your current responsibilities within the Village and to refrain from involving yourself in matters that may extend beyond your present purview.
Her outfit choice for a video is questionable Sheesh -looking like the same bag of garbage she always does. Just wait for her to stuff her hands in her pockets next
The name calling in your comment sections is beneath you Kevin.
If you don’t like the name calling, don’t read the comments. I understand. But I’m not the decision maker of what should be censored or not. I’m not that important.
I am pleased I moved from Kenosha to a fully RED state. Yes. We have our problems here. But not like what occurs in Kenosha.
In Kenosha, if you are not a dem, then you are a RINO.