Dodge County bail and bond: the Juneau detention facility and where bail money goes
People arrested in Dodge County are booked into the Dodge County Detention Facility, 216 West Center Street, Juneau. It holds both sentenced and unsentenced men and women, and the Sheriff's Office runs it. The facility desk is 920-386-3734. Use Dodge County Inmate Search to see if someone is inside. Wisconsin has no bail bond companies, so you pay the court or the jail directly. One detail to know early: a warrant marked bondable can be cleared with a cash bail payment.
How do I tell if someone is inside the Dodge County Detention Facility?
Search the name on Dodge County Inmate Search. If the booking is only minutes old, wait and try again. When the search shows nothing, call the facility at 920-386-3734. The Sheriff's Office warrant line is 920-386-3726, and extension 4 reaches the Communications Center.
Is there a bonding company in Juneau that can get my son out?
No. Commercial bonding is illegal across Wisconsin. The law lets a private person guarantee a bond only if that person is an individual living in the state, and it forbids paying that person for the service. Any company claiming it can do the job for a fee is not operating legally.
What works here is a judge's order for release with no cash, a signed promise to appear, or a cash deposit that you or the defendant pay to the court.
Where do I pay bail or a bond in Dodge County?
You have three choices. First, the Clerk of Courts payment windows at the Dodge County Justice Facility, 210 West Center Street, Juneau, take cash, checks, and money orders. Second, a local police department or the detention facility will take payment on a Dodge County warrant if you tell staff that is what you are paying. Third, a card can be used online or by phone.
For the card route, use pay location code 5128. Online costs a 3.5 percent convenience fee. Calling 888-604-7888 costs 4.75 percent. For window hours, call the Clerk at 920-386-3570.
What is a bondable warrant, and what is a body-only warrant?
A bondable warrant carries a dollar amount. Paying that cash bond clears the warrant. A body-only warrant has no dollar amount. The person must come before a judge on that case, and cash alone does nothing.
Ask which kind you have before traveling. The Sheriff's Office at 920-386-3726 can read the warrant to you, and the Clerk's bookkeeping department at 920-386-3567 handles money questions.
What do the words bail, bond, and signature bond mean here?
In Wisconsin statutes, bail means money conditions only. Everything else, like staying away from a person or reporting to a supervisor, is a condition of release.
A judge can release someone with no bail, or let the person sign an unsecured appearance bond. That means no money moves now, but the person owes the stated amount if the rules are broken. The judge can also require cash instead of signers. Clerks may accept a card for that cash.
How fast does a judge look at an arrest?
The person has to be brought before a judge within a reasonable time, and court rulings set about 48 hours as the outer line for reviewing a warrantless arrest. A hearing can happen by video link. The Dodge County courthouse is at 210 West Center Street, and the Clerk at 920-386-3570 can tell you the date of the first hearing once a case number exists.
A person arrested on a misdemeanor may be let out sooner under the statewide schedule, covered next.
Can a misdemeanor arrest end in release without paying?
Often. The statewide misdemeanor schedule tells officers to release someone arrested for a misdemeanor, including a misdemeanor traffic offense, without cash. There are exceptions: the person has no proper ID, seems a danger to self, others, or property, lacks community ties, missed court or a citation before, or the investigation needs the person held.
Misdemeanor bail can never exceed the top fine for the offense. A felony has no statewide price list, so the judge sets that number.
Does Dodge County use pretrial supervision?
Yes, Dodge is one of the Wisconsin counties with a pretrial program. A judge can order it in place of money or in addition to it. A court may not require everyone charged to join a program without an individual decision.
A lawyer can ask for supervision at the first hearing if the cash amount is out of reach.
What does no bail on the detention record mean?
Several things. A judge may deny release in narrow cases: certain homicide and sexual assault charges, or a violent charge against someone with a past violent conviction. The District Attorney must ask, a hearing starts within 10 days, and the state needs clear and convincing evidence. Another cause is a hold from outside Dodge County, such as a probation hold or another county's warrant. The booking desk at 920-386-3734 can name the agency.
After a domestic call, how soon can the arrested person go free?
State law makes arrest mandatory in many domestic abuse cases. Police may not let the person go until bail is paid or a judge has heard the case. Once out, the person must keep away from the alleged victim's home and any place the victim is staying, and must not make contact, for 72 hours. A signed notice of these terms is required, and a person who refuses to sign stays in custody. The alleged victim can waive the rule in writing.
What does the court do if a hearing is missed?
The court orders the bond forfeited, mails a notice, and can enter judgment if no one responds within 30 days. A bail-jumping charge may follow too: a Class A misdemeanor on a misdemeanor case, a Class H felony on a felony case. Anyone released must give the Clerk a new address in writing within 48 hours of moving.
What happens to a deposit once the case ends?
A dismissal or not-guilty verdict returns the deposit to whoever made it. A conviction sends the leftover, after bond costs, to restitution first and the judgment second. Forfeited money stays with the court. Keep the window receipt. The Clerk's bookkeeping department at 920-386-3567 answers refund questions.
Will Dodge County take land or a house as security?
Wisconsin only requires that a guarantor be a real person living in the state who can cover the amount. The judge decides what proof is enough and may recheck it later. The judge, not the jail, accepts or rejects property. Call the Clerk of Courts at 920-386-3570 before signing anything, and never give a deed to someone who is not a court officer.
How do I get a court-paid lawyer in Dodge County?
The State Public Defender's Juneau office, 820 North Main Street, Suite 2, serves Dodge County. Call 920-386-5577, or write to PO Box 146, Juneau. Someone without a lawyer can ask the judge to appoint one at the first appearance.
Is a state prison near Juneau the same as the county facility?
No. Dodge Correctional Institution, Waupun Correctional Institution, and Fox Lake Correctional Institution are state prisons. They hold people serving state sentences, so county bail does not apply, and Dodge County Inmate Search lists only the county facility on West Center Street. For a state prisoner, contact the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Who handles a child arrested in Dodge County?
Juvenile court does. The District Attorney's Office files delinquency petitions, the Clerk of Courts at 920-386-3570 can explain hearing dates, and the Sheriff's Office at 920-386-3726 can tell a parent where the child is. The adult roster on Dodge County Inmate Search does not list minors.
Is money on an inmate account the same as bail?
No. It buys calls and store items, not release. Keep bail receipts apart from account deposits. Anyone who texts or calls demanding an instant transfer to free a relative is lying; verify with the detention facility at 920-386-3734.
Dodge County contacts for bail questions
- County jail
- Dodge County Detention Facility, 216 West Center Street, Juneau, WI 53039; 920-386-3734
- Bail and bond
- Pay bail at the Clerk of Courts, or by card with pay location code 5128
- Sheriff's Office
- Warrant questions, 920-386-3726
- Clerk of Courts
- Dodge County Justice Facility, 210 West Center Street, Juneau, WI 53039; 920-386-3570; bookkeeping 920-386-3567
- Custody lookup
- Dodge County Inmate Search
- Public defender
- 820 North Main Street, Suite 2, Juneau; 920-386-5577
Fees, windows, and court rules change, so call before you travel or send money. Nothing on this page is legal advice for your case.
