Wisconsin Statutes 767.853 – Paternity hearings and records; confidentiality
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Any hearing, discovery proceeding or trial relating to paternity determination shall be closed to any person other than those necessary to the action or proceeding. Any record of pending proceedings shall be placed in a closed file, except that:
Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 767.853
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(1) Pending proceeding. Access to the record of any pending proceeding involving the paternity of the same child shall be allowed to all of the following:
(a) The child’s parents.
(b) The parties to that proceeding and their attorneys or their authorized representatives.
1. The court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under chs. 48 and 938 in which the proceeding is pending.
3. The person under s. 48.09 or 938.09 who represents the interests of the public in the proceeding under ch. 48 or 938.
4. A guardian ad litem for the child and a guardian ad litem for the child’s parent.
(2) Information access to department and child support agencies. The clerk of circuit court shall provide access to the record of any pending paternity proceeding to the department or any county child support agency under s. 59.53 (5) for purposes related to administering the child and spousal support and establishment of paternity and medical support liability program under ss. 49.22 and 59.53 (5), regardless of whether the department or county child support agency is a party to the proceeding.
(3) Past proceedings. Subject to s. 767.13, a record of a past proceeding is open to public inspection if all of the following apply:
(a) Paternity was established in the proceeding.
(b) The record is filed after May 1, 2000.
(c) The record relates to a post-adjudication issue.