Panel: Purge acquittals from Wisconsin online court records
MADISON - Wisconsin's online system for tracking court cases would purge criminal charges from electronic records if they are dismissed or the defendant is acquitted, under new recommendations by an oversight committee.
The recommendations about the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access site were made this week by a panel that is charged with giving guidance to J. Denis Moran, the director of state courts. The changes would affect what the public can see in online court records but not what records are available for viewing in courthouses — those wouldn't change.
The oversight panel is made up of courts officials from around the state along with lawmakers and representatives of law enforcement and the news media. Fourteen members of the panel voted for the felony recommendations, with the only opposition votes coming from the media representatives and an official from the state Department of Justice headed by GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel.
Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, said he was disappointed with the recommendation to drop online records of dismissed felony charges after one to two years.
Read more: http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/23/panel-purge-acquittals-wisconsin-online-court-records/99509232/