WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsWis. gov: Protect innocent people in records
Member Center:
Associated Press - February 12, 2010 2:05 PM ET
MIDDLETON, Wis. (AP) - Gov. Jim Doyle says a judge should decide whether an innocent person's record should be expunged.
Doyle told the Wisconsin Newspaper Association's annual convention that online court records are making life a nightmare for people who are charged but later have their cases dropped.
Rep. Marlin Schneider, a Wisconsin Rapids Democrat, has written a bill that would allow the public to see online records of cases only where someone has been convicted. He argues the mere presence of the records carries a connotation of guilt that can cost people jobs or apartments, even if they were eventually exonerated.
Doyle says that proposal goes too far, but something must be done to protect truly innocent people.
Doyle went on to say if a judge decides the electronic records should be expunged, the paper records should go, too.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
