Privacy Concerns
Personal information appearing in court records is protected by statutes only in limited circumstances. According to Wisconsin court cases, even if the information may be harmful to an individual's reputation or privacy, that is not enough to allow a judge to seal a court record. However, if you feel your safety is at risk, you can petition the court to remove your address from the online record of a non-criminal case.
Wisconsin law allows a judge to "expunge" a case in only two situations, both involving youthful offenders:
- Misdemeanors committed by a person under 25. If the judge ordered expunction upon successful completion of the sentence, the record can be expunged. See §973.015, Wis. Stats.
- Adjudication of a juvenile delinquent. A juvenile who has been adjudged delinquent can, upon reaching age 17, petition the judge for expunction of the juvenile adjudication. See §938.355, Wis. Stats. However, WCCA does not display juvenile adjudications because they are not public records.
An expunged case is sealed by the clerk of court and is available to be viewed only with a court order. If the judge properly orders a case expunged, any reference to it will be removed from WCCA. A judge has no other authority or power to expunge cases, and there are no similar provisions for other types of cases.
In 2006, changes were made to the system which included a glossary of legal terms, a caution to employers regarding job discrimination, a decrease in the amount of time certain records remain public and an executive summary page.
Read more about this topic: Wisconsin Circuit Court Access
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