Obsolete district attorney records
Wis. Stat. § 978.07
in effect(1) Whenever necessary to gain needed vault and filing space, a district attorney may destroy, subject to sub. (2), obsolete records in his or her custody as follows:
(a) Any district attorney record, after it has first been microfilmed or transferred to optical disc or electronic storage and preserved in accordance with s. 16.61.
(b) Any case record of a traffic, misdemeanor, civil or related case, 3 years after commencement of the action.
(c)
1. Any case record of a felony punishable by life imprisonment or a related case, after the defendant’s parole eligibility date under s. 304.06 (1) or 973.014 (1) or date of eligibility for release to extended supervision under s. 973.014 (1g) (a) 1. or 2., whichever is applicable, or 50 years after the commencement of the action, whichever occurs later. If there is no parole eligibility date or no date for release to extended supervision, the district attorney may destroy the case record after the defendant’s death.
2. Any case record of a felony punishable by a maximum period of imprisonment equal to at least 20 years or a related case, after the mandatory release date established under s. 302.11 (1) or the presumptive mandatory release date established under s. 302.11 (1g), if applicable, of any person convicted of that felony or 20 years after commencement of the action, whichever is later.
3. Except as provided in subds. 1. and 2., any case record of a felony or related case, after the mandatory release date established under s. 302.11 (1) or the presumptive mandatory release date established under s. 302.11 (1g), if applicable, of any person convicted of that felony or 10 years after the commencement of the action, whichever is later.
(d) Any other district attorney record not included under pars. (a) to (c) made or received in connection with a transaction as evidence of a district attorney’s activities or functions, after 6 years.
(2) Prior to destruction of records under sub. (1), the district attorney for a prosecutorial unit with a population of less than 750,000 shall make a written offer to the historical society under s. 44.09. If the offer is accepted by the society within 60 days after the day the offer is made, the district attorney shall transfer the title to those records to the historical society. If the offer is not accepted within 60 days after the day the offer is made, the district attorney may destroy the records.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/978.07Fetched: 10/7/2026