Barriers to Employment

39%

42%

50%

23%

Multiple barriers

Criminal backgrounds

No driver's license

No high school diploma/GED

N = 8,668

60%

19%

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

1,400

1,600

1,800

2,000

Male Female

Criminal Background

No Criminal Background

Barriers to Employment

Seals a criminal case record from public access

and removes electronic record from Wisconsin

Circuit Court Access (WCCA) website

Expungement

• Laws in Wisconsin vs. other states

• Possible changes that could expand

expungement opportunities

• Analysis of Milwaukee County court cases from

2006-2017

Expungement

Wisconsin's expungement Law

• Offenders under age 25 are eligible

• Misdemeanors and non-violent Class H and Class I felonies are eligible

• Must be approved at sentencing

Uncommon Features of WI’s Law

• Only state where approval must be made at sentencing

• One of a few states where eligibility is restricted only to young adults

• One of a few states with no provision for non-convictions

Expungement & Record Sealing

surrounding states

Adult CasesMore or Less

Restrictive than WI?

Iowa Expungement only allowed for non-convictions. More

IllinoisAll misdemeanors, most felonies, and all non-convictions are

eligible for expungement regardless of offender age.Less

IndianaAll misdemeanors, most felonies, and all non-convictions are

eligible for expungement regardless of offender age.Less

Michigan

Individuals can seal up to one felony and two misdemeanor

convictions in their lifetime regardless of age at time of

offense. Most felony convictions are eligible. Non-convictions

for first offenses also eligible.

Less

Minnesota

All misdemeanors, many non-violent felonies, and all non-

convictions are eligible for expungement regardless of offender

age.

Less

Other Expungement issues

• Ambiguity in statute appears to have resulted in lack of

uniformity in its application

• Wisconsin Department of Justice also maintains online criminal

history database

• Lack of awareness of expungement eligibility among ex-

offenders

Other Related issues

Criminal records also can affect access to:

o Professional licenses

o Small business loans and grants

o Financial aid for higher education

o Housing assistance

Most Severe charge in MKE County cases2006-2017

329 1,3755,705

1,7463,717

7,6329,640

13,74516,149

49,255

18,12215,201

Offender Age in MKE County cases2006-2017

20,576

34,486

27,776

19,351

14,692

31,307

Under 20 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40 and over

Offender race in MKE County cases2006-2017

2.1%

0.6%

3.9%

14.3%

52.7%

26.4%

0.2%

0.4%

0.5%

3.4%

27.5%

67.9%

Other

American Indian or Alaskan Native

Asian or Pacific Islander

Hispanic/Latino

Caucasian/White

African American/Black

% of total cases % of county population

allow decision-makingafter sentence completion

Option 1:

Option 2:permit expungement for closed cases

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Total Convictions Potentially-Eligible Closed Cases

Option 3:allow non-convictions to be expunged

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Non-Convictions Total Cases

Option 4: remove age requirement

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Ages 24 & under All ages

Option 5:permit expungement of more felonies

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Felony H or lower Felony G added Felony G, F, & E added

Relative impact of changes on cases2006-2017

30,638 30,638 30,638 30,638 30,638

51,425

3,004 5,837 7,117 3,180

Age requirement

eliminated

Felony G

allowed

Felony G & F

allowed

Felony G, F & E

allowed

Non-convictions

allowed

Closed cases allowed Additional cases

Projected additional mke county cases that could become eligible in 2019

1,139 1,139 1,139

390

1,560

3,973

Felonies G, F, & E allowed Non-convictions allowed Age requirement

eliminated

Current Law

Individuals by number of casesN=573

26.4%

20.9%

15.0%

37.7%

1 case 2 cases 3 cases 4+ cases

Individuals by severity of convictionsN=573

21.8%

78.2%

Offense > Felony H

No offense > Felony H

• Clerks of courts offices

• Court system

• D.A. offices

• Public defender’s offices

Potential impacts on criminal justice system

• Senate – approved 2017 Senate Bill 53 by a 30-2 margin

• Assembly – committee approved 2017 Assembly Bill 331;

full Assembly approved Senate Bill 53 by a 95-0 margin and

sent it back to Senate with Assembly Bill 331 attached

• Senate took no further action

Recent action at the state capitol

www.wispolicyforum.org