Wisconsin Department of Justice Identification Manual - Imprimus ...

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.
(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convicted of a subsequent offense and, if on probation, the probation has not been
revoked and the probationer has satisfied the conditions of probation.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.
Wisconsin Statute 973.015 and police records.
Wisconsin Statute 973.015 (1) states, "When a person under the age of 21 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 penalty is imprisonment for one
year or less in the county jail, 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." The Supreme Court Decision, "In the Interest of E.C. 130 Wis. 2nd
376," has determined that s. 973.015 applies only to "court records" and the court
states, "In sec. 973.015 (1), the legislature has determined that the only records
which may be expunged are court records resulting from a misdemeanor conviction
when the person was under the age of 21 at the time of the commission of the
offense. In this situation, the court may expunge only the court records, and then,
only if the court determines that the person will benefit and society will not be
harmed by this disposition."
The case also discusses charges against juveniles and, in so doing, defines
"expunction" in relationship to those charges as: "...that information regarding the
charges against juveniles would be placed in a sealed envelope which would be kept
in a separate, private location and could not be viewed by anyone except on order of
the court.... Expunction does not require destruction of the juvenile records." This
definition of expunction would logically apply to all records, not only those that are
juvenile.
Consistent with this decision, the Crime Information Bureau (CIB) and local law
enforcement agencies have no responsibilities with regard to s. 973.015. When the
CIB receives notification of an adjudication consistent with s. 973.015, the record
will be modified to indicate that the sentence was ordered under that particular
statute. If the terms and conditions of s. 973.015 have been met, the record will
indicate "successfully completed." If the subject was given probation or any other
extended terms and conditions, a follow-up letter will be sent to the court indicating
that the CIB is aware of the "special disposition" and requesting that the court notify
the CIB of any status change. When the CIB receives follow-up information from
the court, the record will be modified to indicate "successfully completed" or
"special disposition revoked" as directed by the court. If the special disposition is
revoked, the associated sentence will be appended to the record. State statutes do not
allow CIB to remove arrests involving special dispositions under s. 973.015 from a
person’s criminal record.
The computer currently flags any record that has a "special disposition" and when
the date of any special terms is reached, that "flag" is removed prior to the release of
the record. If an agency inquires on a record that has an adjudication under s.
973.015 and the term has been reached, the computer will route the inquiry to a
clearinghouse terminal. If the date of the terms has been reached without any
subsequent notification from the court, CIB will assume that the terms have been met
Wisconsin Department of Justice Identification Manual Final Dispositions • 52