Can I Get My Juvenile Record Expunged in Wisconsin?

 Posted on April 13, 2024 in Criminal Defense

Having a criminal record can impact your life for years to come. It comes up when interviewing for jobs, seeking housing, applying to universities and scholarship programs, and even dating. It can be extremely frustrating to be endlessly punished for crimes you committed long ago, which you already paid the price for by completing a sentence. If your criminal record is the result of mistakes you made when you were much younger, you might consider getting it expunged, in other words, have it removed or erased as if it never happened. Getting a juvenile record expunged in Wisconsin is challenging but not impossible. If you have been thinking about trying to get your juvenile record expunged, a skilled Dodge County, WI criminal defense attorney can review your case and offer useful guidance.

Requesting Expungement in Wisconsin

Teenagers often fail to think before they act. Making mistakes and learning from them is a part of growing up, but if the mistakes you make violate the law, the consequences can be much more serious. Juvenile crimes can stay with you far into adulthood. If you have turned your life around and are trying to be a law-abiding citizen, a criminal record can feel like a shadow following you around wherever you go.

Several states encourage expungement of juvenile records under certain circumstances. On the other hand, Wisconsin has particularly strict regulations and limitations regarding expungement. For example, you are only eligible for expungement if you requested it at the time of your sentencing. Juvenile defendants often lack sufficient legal representation to inform them of these types of specifics, and that is why many go through their sentencing without even asking for the possibility of future expungement. However, if the judge grants this request, you will need to carry out your sentence, and once you are done, the record can be expunged.

Wisconsin judges will only consider an expungement request if the following conditions are met:

• You were 25 years old or younger at the time of the crime
• The crime you committed was a low-level nonviolent felony or a misdemeanor.
• You admitted guilt and fully carried out your punishment and abided by the limitations of your probation.
• Any potential consequence of the crime you committed holds a maximum prison sentence of no more than six years.

Schedule a Free Consultation with a Wisconsin Defense Lawyer

Many of the regulations surrounding requests for expungement would be difficult to understand without legal knowledge. That is where a knowledgeable Milwaukee County, WI defense attorney comes in. We at Bucher Law Group, LLC have helped hundreds of families, and we want to help you, too. Let us fight for your rights so that the mistakes of your past do not determine your future. Call 262-303-4916 for a free consultation.