Debate Over Online Access to Court Records Ensues in Wisconsin

AP Photo by Dado Galdieri

Article by Michelle Halpern

Since 2007 when Wisconsin Rapids Democratic Representative, Marlin Schneider, tried to pass a bill that would place limits on Wisconsin's open-records law, debate over the issue still ensues, says the Associated Press.

In celebration of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council's 30th Anniversary, the group held a debate on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, October 13, that addressed issues concerning individuals' rights to privacy in regards to the state's online record system.

President of the council, Bill Lueders, who is also editor of Isthmus, an alternative weekly newspaper in Madison, debated in favor to keep the online records system as is, while Schneider remains in favor of restricting access to the website to some extent.

The online database, officially called the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Site, but commonly known in the community as CCAP, allows anyone access to details of criminal and civil court records with the click of a button. While the website is most often used by court officials, the media, and attorneys, some community members and Wisconsin officials feel that the site has been abused on numerous occasions whether it be by snooping neighbors or job employers checking up on possible employees. 

A main concern about the website is that even in such cases where a person may have been taken to court and found not guilty, this presence on the site can tarnish a person's image or may easily be misread by someone skimming through the information quickly. 

The CCAP website receives anywhere between 3.4 million to 3.9 million hits each day. 

While Lueders understands that this readily public information can be easily abused, he says, "I just don't think the solution to that is to deprive people of access to these records." 

Under Schneider's suggested bill, access to the site would be limited to judges, police offiicals, reporters and prosecutors. However, all records would still be available to the public in hard copy at court houses.