Your right to know: Don’t purge records of expunged cases

 

April Barker

 

By APRIL BARKER

Wisconsin legislators are looking to reform current law governing the expungement of criminal records.

Among other things, SB-39 would allow those convicted of crimes for which the maximum term of imprisonment is six years or less (including some felonies) to ask a judge to expunge their convictions even if they fail to do so at the time of sentencing, as is currently required.

It would also allow those older than age 25 at the time of an offense to request expungement, and expressly provide that an expunged record cannot be considered a conviction for purposes of employment. The standard under present law would be carried forward, which lets judges grant expungement if they determine “that the person will benefit and society will not be harmed.”

The rationale for the bill, which has broad bipartisan support, is to give those who have made minor mistakes a fresh start, including supposedly enhanced employment opportunities. It is one of several current proposals to expand the availability of expungement. Gov. Tony Evers has called for expunging convictions for individuals convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana, and legislators are looking to allow expungement for first-offense drunken driving.

Currently, when a case is expunged, the court file is sealed and the record removed from the state’s online court records system, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access program. Supporters of these bills consider this removal of records an essential component of expungement. (Last year, in a similar vein, the director of state courts implemented a policy removing, after two years, dismissed criminal cases from WCCA.)

While the goal of assisting people in moving past their pasts is laudable, we would do well to remember the words of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, who wrote, “Experience teaches us to be most on our guard … when the government’s purposes are beneficent.”

Wisconsin’s open records law declares that denying access to information about the actions of government is generally contrary to the public interest. That may be especially true when the information being removed involves the actions of law enforcement agencies and courts, both of whom are entrusted with great powers that are subject to abuse.

The goal of erasing criminal convictions for those who are deserving can be accomplished without removing records from public view. Employers already may not legally discriminate in hiring unless the circumstances of the conviction “substantially relate to the circumstances” of the job, or in other similarly limited instances.

Proponents of removing information assert that people are frequently denied employment because of minor or long-ago criminal convictions. But in fact, the vast majority of people with criminal convictions do manage to find work. The state has 1.4 million people with criminal pasts, according to one group pushing for expungement reform; the state’s unemployment rate is 3 percent, or about 94,000 workers.

Ceding the right to know what our government is doing is a slippery slope that has no identifiable stopping point. The denial of access to information about government activity unquestionably undermines our ability to know what our government is doing and has done.

In this case, there is little empirical evidence supporting the reasons for limiting access, however honorable the government actors’ intentions may be.

Your Right to Know is a monthly column distributed by the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council (wisfoic.org), a group dedicated to open government. April Barker, the Council’s co-vice president, is an attorney with Schott, Bublitz & Engel of Brookfield.

 

 

 

Comments are closed.

  • Letter to the editor: Is Big Brother already listening?

    March 14th, 2024
    by

    By DANI SULIK | Kendall When George Orwell’s novel 1984 was published in 1949, it was seen as a fictional cautionary […]


    Letter to the editor: Vote no on constitutional amendments

    March 14th, 2024
    by

    By JOAN KENT | La Farge Some things are not what they appear. Like the two constitutional amendments on Wisconsin’s April […]


    Letter to the editor: Oath/pledge

    March 14th, 2024
    by

    By LEE D. VAN LANDUYT | Hillsboro An oath is a solemn promise regarding one’s future action or behavior. Our Pledge […]


    Letter to the editor: Questions remain about Vernon County Landfill

    March 11th, 2024
    by

    By CATHY LUND | Viroqua I appreciated the well-articulated article Gail Frie wrote in the paper regarding the landfill. It is […]


    Letter to the editor: Vernon County and Wisconsin are national leaders in landfill safety

    February 8th, 2024
    by

    Recently I became aware of information being circulated in the county through social media and emails that questions the safety of the Vernon County landfill.


  • Your Right to Know: Don’t charge records requesters for redactions

    February 6th, 2024
    by

    You’ve already paid for them. They’re yours. But if you want to see the public records that show what your government is doing, some state lawmakers want you to pay again — this time, for redactions.


    Letter to the editor: Transgender lunacy: Let’s just call it nuts!

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    By BOB BREIDENSTEIN | rural Ontario Nuts! That the latest U.S. Supreme Court justice, at her confirmation hearing, with a bewildered […]


    Letter to the editor: The clock is ticking

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    You’re thinking, “She’s complaining about the Republicans again.” And you’d be right.


    Letter to the editor: Democracy vs. dictatorship

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    Otto von Bismarck once said: “Only a fool learns from his own mistakes. The wise man learns from the mistakes of others.” 


    Letter to the editor: Warm memories and perspectives 

    February 5th, 2024
    by

    Winter meant skating, ice and roller skating. The new pavilion in Ontario has taken the place of the old Ontario Community Hall for skating.


    Letter to the editor: In defense of grammar

    January 4th, 2024
    by

    By DANI SULIK | Kendall Who doesn’t love grammar? Okay, so you may not love it, but you know when it’s […]


  • Archives