The charges were the sort that usually puts an end to careers:
Child Enticement-Give/Sell DrugsThis information on a pending case (Brown County Case Number 2007CF000897) was obtained from the WCCA website, a government website posting court cases for all to see.
Intent. Contribute/Delinquency Child
Child Enticement-Expose Sex Organ
Exposing Genitals to Child
Intent. Contribute/Delinquency Child
I know this because there are internet forum posts (like this one - scroll down to goofticket's comment) detailing this information above hyperlinks to the WCCA record. Near as I can tell, this information was available as of 6:50pm last night - because there are other posts from that time that are also providing the direct link.
But if I go to WCCA's website as of now, and search Brown County records for Donald J. Fleischman, case #2007CF000897, I get this:
State of Wisconsin vs. Donald J Fleischman
Brown County Case Number 2007CF000897
Brown County Case Number 2007CF000897
This case has not been concluded. Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.Which is kind of odd, considering that this information was clearly available as of last night - and that (as far as I know) this information stemmed from a criminal complaint filed in December of 2006.
Notice to employers: It may be a violation of state law to discriminate against a job applicant because of an arrest or conviction record. Generally speaking, an employer may refuse to hire an applicant on the basis of a conviction only if the circumstances of the conviction substantially relate to the particular job. For more information, see Wisconsin Statute 111.335 and the Department of Workforce Development's Arrest and Conviction Records under the Law publication.
Let's set aside discussions about Fleischman's guilt or presumed innocence - or whatever privacy policies WCCA affords to defendants in pending cases.
The question I have is - why was this information there yesterday, and gone as of today?
Was it posted by mistake? Was a complaint filed?
What gives?
Updated: Odder still, a link into the case detail still functions. (I'd tried cutting and pasting the URL from the post and accidentally left in the space). So, going in via the front door, the site tells you you can't see this information (even though you could yesterday), but the detailed link allows this information to be retrived, even now.
Are these other posters just partisan data miners working the system? or is the WCCA just doing a poor job of hiding data it shouldn't be showing?
Edited 2008: I mistook a splash screen for restricted access screen, so my mistake.
However, the case continues:
October 29, 2007 - Just following up...
and
May 14, 2008 - Follow through
2 comments:
I read recently that they want to restrict access to that website so that only courts people can see it because it's "mis-used."
I'd like to go back and see who was responsible for that bill...
Probably legislators with something to hide.
I just realized I'm a dork. It occurred to me on the way home that the notice page might be a splash screen prior to viewing the content.
It is, and in what I thought was the page footer is a button that takes you to the case details. Simple as pie.
So much for mystery. It appears that WCCA deals with the potential harm of public access to in progress cases by warning people not to make any judgments after viewing them.
Hardly effective - I'm sure this man's rep is about to go down in flames - but it's probably the legally required veneer.
Ah well.
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