Are your fingerprints stored from an arrest you were not prosecuted for?
Wisconsin Expungement Series Part Two - Arrest Records In our last blog post on Wisconsin Expungement we explained the general concept, and the process one must go through in order to receive the benefit of the Wisconsin expungement process. This blog post is going to be limited to an area closely associated to Wisconsin expungement, which is clearing your record of arrest records information retained by the local police. It is very common for individuals to believe that the Wisconsin expungement process will wipe their record clean and that after Wisconsin expungement has occurred no one will find out about the conviction. However, as we explained in our last post that is simply not the case in Wisconsin. The local law enforcement agency who arrested you or the individual maintains a record of every arrest. In limited circumstances a person may be eligible to have this information removed from their record through the process of removing an individual’s arrest information from the database at the local police station or other agency. Wisconsin Statute § 165.84 addresses removal of arrest identification data in certain non-conviction situations. Put simply, a person who is arrested in Wisconsin but not charged, or a person whose case is dismissed or ends in an acquittal, may be eligible to ask the Wisconsin Department of Justice to remove qualifying arrest identification data. To initiate the process, a person submits the DOJ request form with documentation showing the dismissal, acquittal, or no-prosecution outcome. A fingerprint may be required because fingerprints are how the criminal-history record is matched. This process is different from court expungement under § 973.015, and it is different from asking a court to seal or remove a CCAP entry. As outlined above, Wisconsin arrest-record removal is limited. It is generally tied to non-conviction outcomes, not simply to old convictions or cases someone wishes were private. The importance of having an experienced criminal defense attorney from the time of arrest is essential in preserving long-term options with criminal history and background checks.
If you or anyone you know are charged with a crime please feel free to call our office for assistance.
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