The Wadena County District Court, part of Minnesota's Seventh Judicial District, hears all criminal cases from the county at the Wadena County Courthouse in the city of Wadena, the county seat. The Wadena County Attorney prosecutes every felony and juvenile case and the lower-level offenses committed outside city limits. Misdemeanors from inside cities such as Wadena, Menahga, Sebeka and Verndale are generally prosecuted by each city's attorney. Arrests are booked by the Wadena County Sheriff's Office, which runs the county jail in Wadena.

• Wadena County District Court (Court Administration, Seventh Judicial District), Wadena County Courthouse, 415 Jefferson Street South, Wadena, MN 56482, (218) 631-7633
• Wadena County Attorney's Office, Wadena, (218) 631-7739
• Seventh District Public Defender (State Board of Public Defense), which supplies appointed lawyers in Wadena County; Wadena County clients can contact the district's Fergus Falls office at 309 South Mill Street, Suite 101, Fergus Falls, MN 56537, (218) 739-7467
• Wadena County Jail (Wadena County Sheriff's Office), Wadena

Which court hears your case. Wadena County has exactly one criminal trial court, the District Court at 415 Jefferson Street South, and that court hears petty misdemeanors, misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and felonies alike. Minnesota has no municipal or city courts. The level of the charge determines who is prosecuting and what hearings to expect. If the offense is a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor inside one of the county's cities, the city's attorney (or a private firm the city contracts with) usually prosecutes it; if it happened in a township, the County Attorney does. Felonies always belong to the Wadena County Attorney.

Where pretrial detainees are held. People arrested in Wadena County who are not released are held in the Wadena County Jail in the city of Wadena, which is operated by the elected Sheriff. They remain there until they post bail, a judge releases them, or the case concludes. Court Administration, at (218) 631-7633, can provide hearing dates.

Wadena County's lower courtroom workload consists of petty misdemeanors, misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors. Only the last two are crimes; a petty misdemeanor is a violation that brings a fine and nothing more.

Booking and release

For many offenses, officers simply issue a citation and a court date. A person who is arrested is booked at the Wadena County Jail and can often post bail from a schedule. If they are held, they must appear before a judge within 36 hours, a deadline that excludes the arrest day, Sundays and legal holidays. Any warrantless arrest must also be reviewed by a judge for probable cause within 48 hours.

First appearance in Wadena

The first hearing is an arraignment for a misdemeanor and a Rule 5 appearance for a gross misdemeanor. A Wadena County judge tells the defendant what the charge is and decides on release. Defendants accused of minor offenses are often released on their own recognizance. Others receive conditional release, which might require sobriety, alcohol monitoring or no contact with a complainant. When bail is set, the judge typically sets a higher amount without conditions and a lower amount with conditions, and bail bond companies can post it, since commercial bail is legal in Minnesota.

Public defender appointments

Defendants who could be jailed and cannot afford a lawyer should request a public defender at the first appearance. The judge decides eligibility based on income, and the Seventh District Public Defender provides the attorneys for Wadena County.

After the first hearing

The case is usually set for a pretrial conference with the prosecutor, where most Wadena County misdemeanors are resolved. Defendants can opt for a trial before the judge or before six jurors, whose verdict must be unanimous. A speedy-trial demand requires trial within 60 days.

Wadena County sentencing ranges

• Petty misdemeanor (Wadena County): fine up to $300; no jail.
• Misdemeanor: a Seventh District judge in Wadena can impose up to 90 days and $1,000, which covers trespassing, theft of $500 or less and most fifth-degree assaults.
• Gross misdemeanor: up to 364 days and $3,000 in a Wadena case, which covers theft between $500 and $1,000 and fifth-degree assault with a prior conviction.
• A first DWI in Wadena County: charged as fourth-degree DWI, a misdemeanor, unless there is an aggravating factor. A test result of 0.16 or more, a child under 16 in the vehicle, or a refusal makes it third-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor. There is also an administrative license revocation that proceeds separately, a required chemical use assessment and, in aggravated cases, possible ignition interlock, plate impoundment and vehicle forfeiture.

Wadena misdemeanor cases can end with dismissal, a continuance for dismissal, a stay of adjudication that leaves no conviction after probation, a fine, probation or jail. They usually take one to four months.

The Wadena County Attorney's Office files every felony in the county by complaint. A grand jury is used only for charges that carry a possible life sentence.

What to expect in court

The process starts with a Rule 5 hearing within 36 hours for anyone in custody. There the judge explains the complaint, appoints the Seventh District Public Defender if the defendant qualifies, and sets bail and conditions, sometimes after a pretrial evaluation. The Rule 8 hearing is the second appearance, when discovery is exchanged and the prosecutor often makes a first offer. The omnibus hearing lets the defense challenge probable cause and seek to suppress improperly obtained evidence. A pretrial or settlement conference comes before trial. A felony jury has 12 members and must reach a unanimous verdict. After a conviction, probation conducts a presentence investigation.

Sentences under the guidelines

The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines set the starting point for every Wadena County felony sentence. Each offense has a severity level, each defendant has a criminal history score, and the grid where the two meet shows a presumptive stayed or executed sentence. Going above or below that presumption requires the Wadena judge to state substantial and compelling reasons.

• Felony theft (Wadena): the value thresholds are $1,000 (5-year maximum), $5,000 (10 years) and $35,000 (20 years).
• Burglary prosecuted by the Wadena County Attorney: up to 20, 10 or 5 years for first, second or third degree.
• First-degree drug sale: a Wadena County judge can sentence up to 30 years.
• Second-degree assault (dangerous weapon): up to 7 years in Wadena, plus a mandatory minimum if a firearm was involved.

Through a stay of imposition, a Wadena County defendant who completes probation has the felony recorded as a misdemeanor. If a prison term is executed, generally two-thirds is served in prison and one-third on supervised release. Wadena County felony cases usually take four to twelve months.

The most serious accusations in Wadena County follow the same felony process, but judges set much higher bail and tighter conditions, and many defendants stay in the Wadena County Jail until trial. First-degree murder requires a grand jury indictment before the case can proceed.

• First-degree murder in Wadena County: life imprisonment. Premeditated murder and certain other first-degree murders carry life without parole; others allow parole eligibility after 30 years. Minnesota has been without a death penalty since 1911.
• Second-degree murder: up to 40 years. Third-degree murder: a Wadena court may impose up to 25 years.
• First-degree criminal sexual conduct: up to 30 years, with a presumptive 144 months on a first offense.
• Aggravated robbery in the first degree, Wadena County: up to 20 years.

Chapter 611A of Minnesota Statutes gives victims rights to notice, to attend proceedings and to be heard at sentencing. The Seventh District Public Defender represents qualifying defendants. A violent felony case typically takes one to two years and can take longer.

Offenses by youth under 18 in Wadena County are handled by the juvenile division of the District Court on Jefferson Street. The County Attorney decides whether to file a delinquency petition, and diversion is a common choice for a young person's first offense.

A Wadena County juvenile is never booked into the adult jail for an ordinary delinquency case. When detention is necessary, Wadena County generally places the youth at the West Central Regional Juvenile Center in Moorhead under its cooperative service agreement with that facility. A detention hearing must be held within 36 hours after the youth is taken into custody, excluding weekends and holidays. The Seventh District Public Defender represents juveniles who qualify.

The County Attorney can seek Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile status for certain 14- to 17-year-olds, which means a juvenile disposition paired with an adult sentence that is stayed. Youth 14 and older can be certified to adult court, and certification is presumed for 16- and 17-year-olds charged with an offense that carries presumptive prison or that involved a firearm. Wadena County 16- and 17-year-olds charged with first-degree murder are tried as adults. Juvenile records are generally kept confidential, though certain felony records for youth 16 and older can be public.

The federal court for Wadena County

Federal crimes from Wadena, Menahga, Sebeka, Verndale and the rest of Wadena County are heard by the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota in its Division 6. The division's home is the Edward J. Devitt U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, 118 S. Mill Street, Fergus Falls, MN 56537, about an hour west of Wadena, and jurors for a Division 6 trial report to Fergus Falls. Even for a Wadena County arrest, the initial appearance and detention hearing are often handled in Minneapolis or St. Paul. To reach the Clerk of Court, call (612) 664-5000.

Why a case might be federal

The FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspectors and the IRS investigate violations of federal statutes. Drug distribution involving large amounts or interstate movement, gun possession by someone with a prior felony, other firearms offenses, fraud, child exploitation, bank robbery and immigration crimes are frequent examples. Federal prosecutors may adopt a case that began with a Wadena County Sheriff's arrest, and the state may still bring its own charge for the same conduct.

People and offices

The prosecutor is the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota: U.S. Courthouse, 300 S. 4th Street, Suite 600, Minneapolis, MN 55415, (612) 664-5600, or 316 N. Robert Street, Suite 404, St. Paul, MN 55101, (651) 848-1950. A defendant who cannot pay is represented by the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Minnesota, 107 U.S. Courthouse, 300 S. 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415, (612) 664-5858, or by an appointed CJA panel attorney when there is a conflict. The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for federal prisoners; the Fergus Falls office opens only during terms of court, so use the Minneapolis line, (612) 664-5900.

What to expect

Federal agents make the arrest, or one is made on a federal warrant or indictment, and a U.S. magistrate judge conducts the initial appearance, describing the charges and appointing counsel. A detention hearing generally follows within three court days if the government asks for one. The judge may release the defendant on conditions enforced by U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services or, if no conditions would secure appearance and safety, order detention; federal court does not use bail bondsmen, and money bail is rare. When the case was charged by complaint, a grand jury must indict within 30 days of arrest, or a preliminary hearing is held. Arraignment follows, with a 70-day Speedy Trial Act deadline that is commonly extended. Pleas resolve most cases; any trial uses 12 jurors who must all agree. Sentencing is roughly three months later, after a presentence report, under the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and any mandatory minimum. Federal prisoners get no parole and serve at least about 85% of their sentence, counting good-conduct time, in a Bureau of Prisons facility, followed by supervised release. Appeals go to the Eighth Circuit.

Where detainees go

The Marshals house pretrial detainees in contract county jails statewide and occasionally out of state, which means a person booked in Wadena may be transferred elsewhere. Call the Marshals for someone's location, or use the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator after sentencing. Prosecuting a minor in federal court is rare.