Expunction of Misdemeanor Crimes Denied

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WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Kole R. Eichinger

Case No.: 2017AP1845-CR; 2017AP1846-CR; 2017AP1847-CR

Officials: HRUZ, J.

Focus: Expunction of Misdemeanor Crimes Denied

In these consolidated appeals, Kole Eichinger challenges the circuit court’s 2017 order denying expunction of misdemeanor crimes to which he pleaded guilty in 2012. Well after he completed his applicable sentence, Eichinger moved the circuit court to expunge his record, believing he met the requirements of Wisconsin’s expunction statute, WIS. STAT. § 973.015. Of particular significance, the statute has a timing component that restricts when a court may grant expunction. According to the statute, a circuit court may only make an expunction decision at the time it imposes a defendant’s sentence.

Eichinger presents unclear arguments that, in many ways, appear to be an attempt at challenging an alleged error made at sentencing, rather than addressing how the circuit court supposedly erred in its 2017 order denying his motion for expunction. In any event, Eichinger’s arguments regarding the 2017 order are either factually unsupported or flawed under existing law. We therefore affirm the circuit court’s 2017 order denying expunction.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.