State Bar committee votes to support expunction proceedings

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By Eric Heisig

The State Bar’s policy committee voted Friday to support legislation to expand expunction proceedings for defendants involved in criminal cases.

The new policy, which the committee unanimously approved, takes the majority of its stance from a 2009 rules petition the bar filed before the state Supreme Court, bar lobbyist Sandy Lonergan told members. That petition was not approved, though justices have said that the matter could be discussed by the state Legislature.

The bar’s proposed position states that it “supports the inherent authority of Wisconsin courts to manage and control their own files and records and to determine when they ought to be made public.” It also states that the bar is aware that the authority to expunge certain cases already rests with judges, though the bar would support “legislative efforts to expand” that authority.

The measure does not yet have the full support of the bar’s Board of Governors, which is expected to vote on the policy position next month.

The move comes at a time when multiple bills concerning expunction are either headed to or are in the Legislature. Many involve removing information from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website – which is commonly referred to as CCAP, or Consolidated Court Automation Programs – but not destroying the physical copies held at county courthouses.

So far, no bills regarding the removal of court records have been passed in this session. Many that were introduced have been met with opposition about concerns that records will no longer be public.

More legislation is expected in the coming weeks, as well.

State Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, has said he plans to put forth a bill that would essentially push back the time frame for a judge to rule on whether a person’s crime should be expunged from court records. Now, judges can determine a defendant’s eligibility at sentencing, but Goyke’s proposal would push that decision to after a defendant has finished his or her sentence.