How Do I Erase a Record of Arrest for Domestic Violence in Wisconsin?
Full Question:
Answer:
The Department of Justice has developed a form which a person may use to request removal of information from the CIB database. Removal of information from the CIB database has no effect on the availability of the same information from court files (including CCAP) or police records. However, if the arrest information being removed from the CIB database was reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Justice will notify the FBI to remove the information from its files.
Wisconsin Statute § 973.015 was recently amended to allow a judge to expunge a conviction if four criteria are met: (1) the person was under the age of 25 at the time of the offense, (2) the offense has a maximum penalty of imprisonment of 6 years, (3) the person will benefit and (4) society will not be harmed. Additionally, such a determination must be made at the time of sentencing and be contingent upon the successful completion of the sentence.
Any record of conviction ordered to be expunged by a court cannot be removed from the Wisconsin criminal history repository because the conviction disqualifies that arrest for removal.
In some cases, especially with spousal abuse, it can be very difficult for the victim to drop charges against the abuser. In some cases, the Prosecutor can proceed with the criminal case even if the alleged victim decides not to cooperate or go to court to testify. The Prosecutor is the only one who has the authority to drop criminal charges because the victim is merely a witness in a government prosecution.
The fact that the victim does not want to press charges might affect the prosecutor's decision whether to proceed; but they do not need victim's consent to proceed. If the victim is the only witness the prosecution would be able to use to seek a conviction, then they may consider the wishes of the victim and dismiss the case.
Please note though that there may still be a record of the arrest. Please see also:
http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/cib/removeai.asp
http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/cib/forms/cib/DJLE250B.pdf
http://libcd.law.wisc.edu/~wilc/lm/lm_2000_08.pdf
http://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/familylaw/domesticabuse.php
Wisconsin Statute Sec. 973.015 has been recently amended to allow expungement for persons convicted of all misdemeanors and certain felonies, if the defendant was under twenty-five years of age at the time of the offense. Whether expungement will be awarded is normally discussed at the time of the sentencing. However, expungement is possible even when it was not discussed at the sentencing hearing.
The answer will depend on the classification of your offense, whether it carried a maximum sentence of more than 6 years, and whether you have prior or subsequent offenses.
Please see the following WI statute:
973.015 Special disposition.
(1)(b)
(b) The court shall order at the time of sentencing that the record be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence if the offense was a violation of s. 942.08 (2) (b), (c), or (d), and the person was under the age of 18 when he or she committed it.
973.015
973.015 (1)(c)
(c) No court may order that a record of a conviction for any of the following be expunged:
973.015
973.015 (1)(c)1.
1. A Class H felony, if the person has, in his or her lifetime, been convicted of a prior felony offense, or if the felony is a violent offense, as defined in s. 301.048 (2) (bm), or is a violation of s. 940.32, 948.03 (2) or (3), or 948.095.
973.015
973.015 Special disposition.
973.015
973.015 (1)
(1)
973.015
973.015 (1)(a)
(a) Subject to par. (b) and except as provided in par. (c), when a person is under the age of 25 at the time of the commission of an offense for which the person has been found guilty in a court for violation of a law for which the maximum period of imprisonment is 6 years or less, the court may order at the time of sentencing that the record be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence if the court determines the person will benefit and society will not be harmed by this disposition. This subsection does not apply to information maintained by the department of transportation regarding a conviction that is required to be included in a record kept under s. 343.23 (2) (a).
973.015
973.015 (1)(b)
(b) The court shall order at the time of sentencing that the record be expunged upon successful completion of the sentence if the offense was a violation of s. 942.08 (2) (b), (c), or (d), and the person was under the age of 18 when he or she committed it.
973.015
973.015 (1)(c)
(c) No court may order that a record of a conviction for any of the following be expunged:
973.015
973.015 (1)(c)1.
1. A Class H felony, if the person has, in his or her lifetime, been convicted of a prior felony offense, or if the felony is a violent offense, as defined in s. 301.048 (2) (bm), or is a violation of s. 940.32, 948.03 (2) or (3), or 948.095.
973.015
973.015
973.015 (1)(c)2.
2. A Class I felony, if the person has, in his or her lifetime, been convicted of a prior felony offense, or if the felony is a violent offense, as defined in s. 301.048 (2) (bm), or is a violation of s. 948.23.
973.015
973.015 (2)
(2) A person has successfully completed the sentence if the person has not been convicted of a subsequent offense and, if on probation, the probation has not been revoked and the probationer has satisfied the conditions of probation. Upon successful completion of the sentence the detaining or probationary authority shall issue a certificate of discharge which shall be forwarded to the court of record and which shall have the effect of expunging the record. If the person has been imprisoned, the detaining authority shall also forward a copy of the certificate of discharge to the department.
Please see the following to determine the classification of your felony:
http://nxt.legis.state.wi.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&d=stats&jd=961.41
