Background
Murphy Allan Thompson was convicted in 2015 of felony manufacture or delivery of THC. After he completed his sentence, the circuit court expunged the court record under Wisconsin’s expungement statute. Thompson later received a concealed-carry license in 2019.
When Thompson applied to renew that license in 2023, the Wisconsin Department of Justice denied the application. It concluded that his felony conviction, though expunged, still prohibited him from possessing a firearm and therefore disqualified him from a concealed-carry license. The Forest County Circuit Court upheld the decision and denied reconsideration.
The Court’s Holding
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed. Under Wisconsin law, a person convicted of a felony may not possess a firearm, and the DOJ may not issue a concealed-carry license to a person subject to that prohibition. Thompson’s expungement did not alter that result because it did not vacate the underlying adjudication of guilt.
The court relied on State v. Braunschweig, which held that expungement removes court records but does not invalidate a conviction. Thompson’s prior license and his compliance with renewal-application requirements did not compel renewal; the DOJ still had to conduct a background check and deny a license to a disqualified applicant.
The court also rejected Thompson’s ex post facto argument because Wisconsin’s felon-firearm restriction is a public-safety measure rather than punishment. Any claim that his plea agreement promised restoration of firearm rights had to be pursued, if at all, through postconviction relief in his underlying criminal case—not in an administrative appeal of the CCW denial.
Key Takeaways
- An expunged Wisconsin felony conviction remains a conviction unless it is vacated.
- A prior concealed-carry license does not override statutory firearm disqualification at renewal.
- A plea-agreement challenge cannot be litigated through review of a concealed-carry licensing decision.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that Wisconsin expungement generally provides record-related relief, not restoration of firearm rights. License applicants with expunged felony convictions remain ineligible for concealed-carry licenses unless the conviction is otherwise removed or their firearm rights are restored through a recognized legal mechanism.