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State Bar affirms its support of expunction efforts

By: Eric Heisig//January 31, 2014//

State Bar affirms its support of expunction efforts

By: Eric Heisig//January 31, 2014//

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The State Bar’s Board of Governors reaffirmed Friday that it supports expanding expunction proceedings for defendants involved in criminal cases.

The bar’s position, which comes at a time when multiple bills concerning expunction and removing information for those who were acquitted have been introduced in the Legislature, 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.”

The official position is largely similar to one the bar took about five years ago. At that time, the bar filed a rules petition before the state Supreme Court calling for expanded expunction proceedings. Though the justices never approved the petition, they said the matter could be discussed by the Legislature.

Because of this, the bar’s new position also states that it is aware the authority to expunge certain cases already rests with judges, but notes the bar would support “legislative efforts to expand” that authority.

The bar’s policy committee passed the measure in December, and it received near unanimous support from the governors who attended Friday’s meeting. BOG member Steve Levine was the only one who opposed the position.

Many of the related current bills 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.

However, no bills regarding the removal of court records have passed during this session, which is scheduled to end in April.

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