Wisconsin has been recognized among a small collection of states that have their state court criminal indexes linked and online. You know, an election year brings out a particular kind of generosity in our elected rulers. A measure that would mask some criminal records from the public index is being revived, after an unremarkable demise in the last legislative session.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a well reported article citing many reasons why this effort is wrong headed. One sponsor of last year’s bill told the Journal that the public index was being used by women who were “busy bodies just using it for gossip.” Can you Wisconsin folks throw a few slings and arrows, please?