Wisconsin Criminal Appeals

Wisconsin Criminal Case Evaluation

Wisconsin Expungement

An expungement is a type of post-conviction relief that essentially erases your criminal record. In other words, if you are successful in requesting an expungement, your conviction will be removed from your criminal record. Under Wisconsin law, expungement is not a guaranteed right and the decision to order an expungement is always within the court’s discretion.

What is the purpose of an expungement?

An expungement is a legal mechanism that is typically used to allow a young offender the opportunity to enter adulthood without the negative effects of a criminal record. Similar to a pardon, an expungement erases a conviction from a person’s criminal record. A pardon has the same effect as an expungement, but the Governor issues a pardon; an expungement is granted by a court.

Once an expungement is granted, a person’s criminal record is permanently sealed. That is to say that an expungement results in the removal of a person’s conviction from Wisconsin’s Circuit Court Access Program (CCAP) that is open to the public under Wisconsin’s open records law.

How do I obtain an expungement?

Wisconsin law has eight strict requirements that must be met in order to qualify for an expungement. First, you must be under 25 years of age at the time you committed the crime. Second, the crime must be either be a low- level felony or a misdemeanor. Third, you must have successfully completed your sentence. Fourth, you must have successfully completed the probation time, if any, that was ordered as part of your sentence. Fifth, you must have paid any fine in full if you were ordered to do so as part of your sentence. Sixth, you oftentimes must show that you will benefit by an expungement. Seventh, you generally cannot have any other felony or misdemeanor convictions on your record since the date of the conviction that you are seeking to expunge. Eighth, and finally, you must oftentimes show that society will not be harmed if you are granted an expungement.

In seeking to meet this lengthy list of requirements, you are well served by hiring a qualified and trusted criminal defense and appellate attorney who has achieved expungements for numerous clients. If you are looking to retain an attorney to help you with the expungement process, contact Tracey Wood & Associates today to schedule an appointment. You can also quickly and easily complete a an online case evaluation form to get started.