Eviction Court Observer Testimony in Support of Lowering Time of Evictions in Public Record

Laura Berger, lead Eviction Court Observer for the Justified Anger Court Observers in Dane County, shared this testimony before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Sept. 7, 2023.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak in support of Legal Action of Wisconsin’s Rule Petition 22.03 related to reducing the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 20-year eviction records retention period to one year.

We are a group of about 10 observers who have witnessed every eviction hearing and trial since April 2021.  (Number 3,308 plus current)

We collect data from what we observe during eviction proceedings.  One data point we capture that is not available in public records is perceived race.  From what we observe in eviction proceedings, 32% (update with inclusion of current data) of defendants are perceived as black. Compare this to the overall black population in Dane County, which is 5.8%.

In addition, of the cases we observe, 67% of tenants are without legal representation.  Before the current availability of funding to support legal assistance to defendants in eviction proceedings, that number was closer to 90%.

The prevalence of black defendants in eviction cases perpetuates racial disparities regardless of whether the defendant was actually evicted. In addition, the limited availability of legal support in eviction proceedings and the ability of landlords to use eviction records for 20 years to decide whether to rent to someone reduces access to housing for all lower-income families.  We believe this to be unjust and unnecessary. Retention of records for one year as proposed allows a better balance of the need for rental properties to determine viable renters and the ability of families who rent to locate and find stability in their housing situation.

This article was contributed by the Justified Anger Court Observers.