LRB-4151/1
CMH:cjs:jf
2007 - 2008 LEGISLATURE
February 26, 2008 - Introduced by Representatives Kessler, Grigsby, Pocan,
Toles, Fields and
A. Williams, cosponsored by Senator Taylor. Referred to
Committee on Corrections and Courts.
AB891,1,5
1An Act to renumber and amend 973.015 (2);
to amend 301.45 (1p), 301.45 (7)
2(e) 2., 301.45 (7) (e) 3., 973.015 (1) (a) and 973.015 (1) (b);
to repeal and
3recreate 973.015 (title); and
to create 973.015 (2) (d), 973.015 (2) (e), 973.015
4(4) and (5) and 973.015 (6) (a) of the statutes;
relating to: expungement of
5misdemeanors.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, if a person commits a misdemeanor (which, in general, is
a crime for which a person may be imprisoned for no more than one year) before he
or she reaches the age of 21, a court may order that the court's record regarding the
offense be expunged upon the offender's successful completion of his or her sentence.
(A person successfully completes a sentence if he or she is not convicted of a
subsequent offense and, if the person is placed on probation, he or she complies with
any condition of probation.) The court may enter such an order only at the time of
sentencing and only if it finds that expunging the record will benefit the person and
will not harm society. If the person successfully completes the sentence in such a
case, the Department of Corrections or the county jail or house of correction must
issue a certificate stating that the person successfully completed the sentence. The
expungement takes effect immediately upon the issuance of that certificate.
This bill makes this expungement option available for all offenders, regardless
of their age at the time of their offenses, unless the misdemeanor conviction was the
result of a plea agreement for certain felony charges. In addition, upon the
expungement of a person's conviction, he or she can no longer be affected by any
prohibition, disqualification, disability, increased penalty, or other adverse or
unfavorable treatment that results from a misdemeanor conviction, including any
adverse consequences that might result from a court's consideration of the expunged
offense in any subsequent case. Moreover, neither the existence nor the contents of
court records relating to the expunged offense may be disclosed to anyone other than
the person or his or her attorney. The bill also permits a court to enter an order
authorizing expungement at any time during or after the sentence. The bill,
however, specifies that expungement may not occur within the first two years after
the person's misdemeanor conviction and that, in general, a person is eligible for
expungement only once in his or her lifetime.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB891, s. 1
1Section
1. 301.45 (1p) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB891,2,82
301.45
(1p) Exception to registration requirement; expungement of invasion
3of privacy adjudication or conviction. If a person is covered under sub. (1g) based
4solely on an order that was entered under s. 938.34 (15m) (am) or 973.048 (1m) in
5connection with a delinquency adjudication or a conviction for a violation of s. 942.08
6(2) (b), (c), or (d), the person is not required to comply with the reporting requirements
7under this section if the delinquency adjudication is expunged under s. 938.355 (4m)
8(b) or if the conviction is expunged under s. 973.015
(2).
AB891, s. 2
9Section
2. 301.45 (7) (e) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB891,2,1110
301.45
(7) (e) 2. The department issues a certificate of discharge under s.
11973.015
(2) (3).
AB891, s. 3
12Section
3. 301.45 (7) (e) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB891,3,213
301.45
(7) (e) 3. The department receives a certificate of discharge issued under
14s. 973.015
(2) (3) by the detaining authority
or, if s. 973.015 (3) does not apply but the
1requirements of s. 973.015 (2) are met, an expungement order issued under s.
2973.015 (1).
AB891, s. 4
3Section
4. 973.015 (title) of the statutes is repealed and recreated to read:
AB891,3,4
4973.015 (title)
Expungement of misdemeanors.
AB891, s. 5
5Section
5. 973.015 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB891,3,146
973.015
(1) (a) Subject to par. (b)
, when and sub. (6) (a), if a person is
under the
7age of 21 at the time of the commission convicted of
an offense for which the person
8has been found guilty in a court for violation of a law a misdemeanor for which the
9maximum penalty is imprisonment for one year or less in the county jail
, the court
10may order at the time of sentencing that the record be expunged upon successful
11completion of the sentence if and the court determines the person will benefit and
12society will not be harmed by this disposition
, the court may order, at sentencing,
13during the sentence, or after the completion of the sentence, that the record be
14expunged if the requirements of sub. (2) are met.
AB891,3,17
15(6) (b) This
subsection
section does not apply to information maintained by the
16department of transportation regarding a conviction that is required to be included
17in a record kept under s. 343.23 (2) (a).
AB891, s. 6
18Section
6. 973.015 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB891,3,2319
973.015
(1) (b)
The court shall order at the time of sentencing that the record
20be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence if If the
offense 21misdemeanor was a violation of s. 942.08 (2) (b), (c), or (d)
, and the person was under
22the age of 18 when he or she committed it
, the court shall order, at the time of
23sentencing, that the record be expunged if the requirements of sub. (2) are met.
AB891, s. 7
24Section
7. 973.015 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 973.015 (2) (intro.) and
25amended to read:
AB891,4,2
1973.015
(2) (intro.) A
person's conviction for a misdemeanor may be expunged
2through an order entered under sub. (1) if all of the following apply:
AB891,4,3
3(a) The person has
successfully completed the sentence
if the.
AB891,4,5
4(b) The person has not been convicted of a
subsequent offense and, if crime
5committed after the misdemeanor conviction.
AB891,4,8
6(c) If on probation, the
probation has not been revoked and the probationer 7person has satisfied the conditions of probation.
Upon successful completion of the
8sentence
AB891,4,15
9(3) If the requirements of sub. (2) are met and the order under sub. (1) was
10entered before the person completed the sentence or less than 2 years after the
11person's misdemeanor conviction, the detaining or probationary authority shall
12issue a certificate of discharge which shall be forwarded to the court of record and
13which shall have the effect of expunging the record. If the person has been
14imprisoned, the detaining authority shall also forward a copy of the certificate of
15discharge to the department.
AB891, s. 8
16Section
8. 973.015 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:
AB891,4,1817
973.015
(2) (d) At least 2 years have passed since the person's misdemeanor
18conviction.
AB891, s. 9
19Section
9. 973.015 (2) (e) of the statutes is created to read:
AB891,4,2320
973.015
(2) (e) If, as part of the misdemeanor conviction, a felony was
21uncharged or dismissed as part of a plea agreement, the felony was not a violent
22offense, as defined in s. 301.048 (2) (bm) 1., or a sex offense, as defined in s. 301.45
23(1d) (b).
AB891, s. 10
24Section
10. 973.015 (4) and (5) of the statutes are created to read:
AB891,5,4
1973.015
(4) If a record of a person's conviction is expunged under this section,
2the person shall not be subject to any prohibition, disqualification, disability,
3increased penalty, or other adverse or unfavorable treatment that would otherwise
4result from the person having been convicted of that offense.
AB891,5,7
5(5) (a) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2. and sub. (3), if a record of a conviction
6is expunged under this section, neither the existence nor the contents of the court's
7records relating to the misdemeanor may be disclosed to any person.
AB891,5,118
2. Notwithstanding SCR 72.06 (3), the existence and contents of a court record
9that is expunged under this section may be disclosed to the person who was convicted
10or, if authorized by the person who was convicted, to an attorney representing the
11person who was convicted.
AB891,5,1512
(b) Within 45 days after a conviction is expunged under this section, the clerk
13of the court of record shall ensure that all records and data relating to the
14misdemeanor, with the exception of a notation "Expungement," are removed from
15the automated information systems under s. 758.19 (4).
AB891,5,1716
(c) When a conviction is expunged under this section, the clerk of the court of
17record shall ensure that public notice of the expungement is provided.
AB891, s. 11
18Section
11. 973.015 (6) (a) of the statutes is created to read:
AB891,5,2019
973.015
(6) (a) This section applies to a person who has already been the subject
20of an order entered under this section only if all of the following apply:
AB891,5,2221
1. The order related to an offense that could have been joined under s. 971.12
22(1) with the present offense.
AB891,5,2423
2. The record of the offense to which the order related has been expunged or the
24person remains eligible for expungement regarding that offense under sub. (2).
AB891,6,2
1(1) This act takes effect on September 30, 2007, or on the day after publication,
2whichever is later.
