Wisconsin courts are being told to list all charges against defendants in the state’s online court records – including those dismissed in plea deals.
A committee that manages the online database has ordered the move.
That’s after the Associated Press found that some counties, but not all, were deleting charges that were substituted in plea bargains.
The chief information officer for the database, Jean Bousquet, said there should be a uniform statewide policy on posting court information. And by keeping dismissed charges out of the system, she said it looks the government is hiding something.
But Milwaukee County Clerk of Courts John Barrett wondered whether listing all charges in a case would exacerbate what he called the “Scarlet Letter factor” – in which employers and landlords reportedly shy away from those charged but not convicted of crimes.
Other members said the public has the right to know what’s going on in their courts, and listing all charges tells the full story about a case. Bousquet said her staff plans to separate dismissed charges by making viewers click on links to reach them.