Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Even though municipal court shoplifting may not be a crime, records will normally be retained forever by the arresting agency, and possibly for a shorter period by the municipal court. In WI, all government agency records are available to the general public except for certain limited exceptions, and are easily requested and obtained by anyone who cares to make the effort. The City of Milwaukee Municipal Court also runs a public website which is somewhat similar to the WI State Court's public database system. This means that record of your arrest can be obtained by anyone with web access via only a few clicks of a computer mouse, with no correspondence or payment of copying fees even required. The impact of such an arrest in immigration and naturalization matters is difficult to predict because the law changes so frequently due to ever changing political sentiments. While shoplifting may not be currently be considered a violent offense of the variety likely to bar entry to the U.S. or cause deportation, it may not help your case if you are participating in a resident visa lottery or other situation where the number of visas is limited. You therefore might wish to discuss possibly contesting it with an experienced criminal lawyer. If you have no prior convictions, plea deals are sometimes even possible in municipal courts, particularly in cases where some legal defense might be available to you. Please do not assume that I am your attorney because of my response here. Call my office in Racine (262-633-3090 or email [email protected]) for clarifications, but short of such additional arrangements, I will not be taking any action on your case. See me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. View over fifteen years of my past answers at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/search/attorney/jknixon. Answers may contain attorney advertising materials..