Clerk of circuit court on expungement
Re: “Don’t erase history” (4/4/2019): As the elected record keeper for the Dane County Circuit Court, proposed legislation such as SB-39 (which would relax some of the circumstances under which criminal cases may be expunged) is of great interest to me, as it is to Mr. [Bill] Lueders. I was confused, however, by his expression of support for the legislation while simultaneously expressing concern about what happens to expunged court records, e.g. that they are sealed and no longer available for public inspection, either on the WCCA website or in Clerks of Court offices. The expungement law has been on the books in some fashion since 1975, and it has always been understood that the process of “expunging” a record is consistent with the definition of that word, e.g. “to erase or remove completely.” Keeping cases that have been expunged by court order somehow still visible on the website or in our offices would mean that the records have not actually been “expunged” at all. Mr. Lueders seems to seek the establishment of an outcome akin to the effect of a governor’s pardon, where rehabilitation is signaled, but the record of the conviction is not sealed. This may be a worthwhile concept to explore.
— Carlo Esqueda, via email
Vape tax
Re: “A sin tax, minus the sin” (4/11/2019): I know someone who owns a few vape shops. If Evers’ tax goes through, [the tax] is retroactive on any inventory in the shop. He’ll probably lose all of his businesses. I can’t tell you how many people I know, myself included, who were able to quit smoking due to the availability of vape products. If this passes, not only will it kill small businesses, but it won’t generate that much in taxes because people will buy online or have friends from other states ship their products to them.
Evers … should tax the rich to fulfill the needs of his budget plans, or legalize recreational cannabis and fully fund our school system like Colorado did. Instead he wants to tax the gas and vape industry which hurts the lower- and middle-class, along with small business owners. I knew this guy was a neolib from the start. If Evers wanted to save a ton of tax revenue, he would crush the FoxConn deal.
— Mike Tooler, via Facebook
Can’t be bothered
Re: “Brian Hagedorn’s lucky breaks” (4/4/2019): Excuse me if I’m a little late on this issue but when I saw the headline on the “uninspiring” liberal Supreme Court candidate, I wanted to puke. Is that what the new liberalism of the perpetually cajoled generation looks like? “I won’t pull my face out my smartphone and vote without a damn good reason” Or is it , “Sorry, but I was this close to a spiritual breakthrough so I couldn’t make it to the polls.” No wonder the right wing is winning. Calling the Republicans uncaring and self-centered is the height of hypocrisy for this new breed of liberal. How about voting because it needs to be done? To pretend like Democrats and liberals have no responsibility for the consequences of this abomination on the court is outrageous.
— Leonard Bohlman, via email
