Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Feb. 13 hearing set for WCCA bill

By: dmc-admin//February 11, 2008//

Feb. 13 hearing set for WCCA bill

By: dmc-admin//February 11, 2008//

Listen to this article

On Wednesday, Feb. 13, the Assembly Corrections and Courts Committee will take up a bill that would limit access to court records through the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) Web site.

State Rep. Robin Vos and Sen. Julie Lassa have developed Assembly Bill 754 that would remove the records of civil and criminal cases from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) Web site once:

* The case or charge has been dismissed.

* The defendant has been found not guilty of all the charges.

* The case or charge has been overturned on appeal and dismissed.

In an earlier blog, I noted the problems with such a proposal.

The director of state courts office has taken steps to eliminate confusion about the status of charges and cases when people access the WCCA Web site. The electronic records indicate when charges have been dropped or cases were dismissed.

This is the second time during this legislative session that legislators have attempted to limit access to online records, despite the fact that the information would still be available in hard copies of the courthouse records. That disparity among the information is one of the incongruities of the proposal.

Earlier in this session, Rep. Marlin Schneider introduced Assembly Bill 418, which would have limited who had access to the electronic court records. That bill failed to move out of the Committee on Corrections and Courts.

The committee will meet at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 13, in Room 415-NW of the Wisconsin Capitol to hold public hearings on several bills including AB754.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests