A popular state web site has undergone some changes that will give some people a sigh of relief.
The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Website is a database of court cases both civil and criminal. It's popular with lawyers, law enforcement and reporters but Court System spokesperson Amanda Todd says she's heard that some people check out potential dates and parents even go on-line to look up their children.
The problem with the old site was about searching for a person's name, possibly finding something damaging at first but then having to wade through all the other information only to find out a case was dismissed for example and the person did nothing wrong.
Now you get the summary of the case right away where you can find the outcome of the case without going through all the court documents.
Even though there's a state law against it, potential employers and landlords were using the site as a background check of applicants, presumably making decisions based on what they found. So, added to the web site is a paragraph explaining Wisconsin's anti-discrimination law.
courtwebva100306.mp3 (502k)