TO:

Interested Parties

FROM:

Nancy Rottier, Legislative Liaison
Director of State Courts Office

RE:

Draft of Expungement Legislation LRB 15-2408/P3

DATE:

July, 2015

The issue of public access to information about court cases has been
before the Legislature and the Supreme Court during the last several
years. Despite extensive study and discussion, there have been few
changes made and some identified problems remain to be addressed.
The attached draft attempts to address some of those problems by
changing the expungement process in Wisconsin. This is a proposal
that we believe is workable and addresses the majority of issues about
expungement. Some provisions of this proposal may change as the
legislative process continues.
The Wisconsin Legislature has provided courts with the power to
expunge a person’s court record in certain offenses since 1975. This is
contained in s. 973.015, Wis. Stats. entitled “Special Disposition.”
The attached legislative draft above makes the following changes to
the expungement process:
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Expands expungement to include cases in which the defendant
was found not guilty; the case was dismissed; or the conviction
was reversed, set aside or vacated. For these cases, there is no
age limit for the defendant.
Expands expungement to cover circuit court forfeiture cases,
other than those involving violation of traffic laws.
Does not allow expungement for convictions of traffic offenses.
Allows a defendant to petition for expungement at any time after
his or her sentence is completed, eliminating the current
requirement that expungement be considered at the time of
sentencing. This includes a defendant whose case was
concluded before passage of the new law.
Allows for expungement of dismissed but read in charges
(charges that are considered at sentencing for another forfeiture
or crime) only if the record of the other forfeiture or crime is also
expunged.

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Clarifies procedures to be followed by the Clerk of Circuit Court in
handling court records that are expunged.
Provides that an expunged record may not be considered by any
person in any matter relating to an application for employment
or for the rental, purchase, or financing of housing. Although
non-discrimination is currently the law, the draft provides a
stronger statement of this principle.
Moves expungement of criminal offenses from the chapter on
sentencing to ch. 939, Crimes—General Provisions.

Many provisions of the current law are retained, including the
following:
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Standard for expungement -- Judge must find that all charges,
orders or judgments against the individual have been completed;
that the individual will benefit; and that society will not be
harmed.
Age – For expungement of a conviction, the petitioner must be
under the age of 25 at the time of commission of the offense.
Offenses covered -- Criminal offenses that are open to
expungement are not changed – misdemeanors and some
felonies for which the maximum sentence is 6 years or less.
Drivers license – Department of Transportation may retain
information about driver licenses as required by s. 343.23(2)(a),
Wis. Stats.