Which court hears your case. A local ordinance ticket, along with a first-offense OWI (treated in Wisconsin as a civil forfeiture rather than a crime, except when a passenger younger than 16 was on board), belongs in the municipal court of the place where it happened, provided that place has a court: the City of Wausau, Kronenwetter, Mosinee, the Rothschild Area joint court (Rothschild, Schofield, the village and town of Weston, Marathon City and Edgar), the Marshfield Area court for the village of Spencer, and the Abbotsford and Colby court on the county's western edge. Citations written by the Sheriff's Office or the State Patrol, and tickets from towns and villages without a court, are filed in the circuit court. Criminal charges below the felony level, including traffic crimes like a second OWI or driving while revoked, are filed in the Marathon County Circuit Court, where criminal files are spread across the six branches. Felony cases also stay in circuit court from the initial appearance through the preliminary hearing, arraignment and any trial.

Where pretrial inmates are held. The Sheriff's Corrections Division runs the 279-bed county jail on the courthouse's secure floors, and it books arrests made by every police agency in the county. The jail also houses inmates for other Wisconsin counties and for federal agencies, and some lower-risk inmates are moved to electronic monitoring at home. Call the jail at (715) 261-1700 or the Sheriff's Office at (715) 261-1200 to confirm whether a person is in custody and what must be paid for release.

• Marathon County Circuit Court (Branches 1 through 6), Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, WI 54403; Clerk of Circuit Court, criminal and traffic, (715) 261-1270; main office (715) 261-1300
• Marathon County District Attorney, Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 261-1111
• Marathon County Sheriff's Office, Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 261-1200
• Marathon County Jail, inside the Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 261-1700
• Wisconsin State Public Defender, Wausau office (the trial office for Marathon County), 500 North Third Street, Suite 310, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 842-1603
• Marathon County Department of Social Services (youth justice intake), 1000 Lake View Drive, Suite 400, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 261-7500

Marathon County has one circuit court with six judges and a cluster of municipal courts around the Wausau metro area. The municipal courts are run by elected part-time judges and hear only local ordinance cases, which end in money forfeitures rather than criminal convictions. Jail is not a sentence a municipal judge can impose for the violation itself; it can come into play only as a way to enforce an unpaid forfeiture. In certain situations a municipal case can be transferred to the circuit court at the defendant's request, for example when a jury is demanded, so read the citation and call the clerk named on it well before the court date.

Circuit court

• Marathon County Circuit Court, Marathon County Courthouse, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, WI 54403. Six branches; Branch 1 through Branch 6 each carry part of the criminal, traffic and juvenile calendar. Clerk of Circuit Court criminal and traffic desk (715) 261-1270; main clerk's line (715) 261-1300.

Municipal courts

• Wausau Municipal Court (city of Wausau), Wausau City Hall, 407 Grant Street, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 261-6650
• Rothschild Area Municipal Court (joint court for the villages of Rothschild, Weston, Marathon City and Edgar, the city of Schofield and the town of Weston), Rothschild Village Hall, 211 Grand Avenue, Rothschild, WI 54474, (715) 298-3215. It replaced the earlier Everest Metro Municipal Court for the Weston and Schofield area.
• Kronenwetter Municipal Court (village of Kronenwetter), 1582 Kronenwetter Drive, Kronenwetter, WI 54455, (715) 693-4200
• Mosinee Municipal Court (city of Mosinee), Mosinee City Hall, 225 Main Street, Mosinee, WI 54455, (715) 693-2275
• Marshfield Area Municipal Court (city of Marshfield and the village of Spencer), Marshfield City Hall, 630 South Central Avenue, Marshfield, WI 54449, (715) 384-6903
• Abbotsford and Colby Municipal Court, a court for two cities that straddle the Clark-Marathon county line; mail to P.O. Box 589, Abbotsford, WI 54405; phone (715) 223-3444
• Elsewhere in the county, including Athens, Stratford, Hatley, Rib Mountain and the many rural towns, ordinance and traffic citations are generally heard in the circuit court unless the municipality has formed or joined a court since; the citation names the court.

Prosecutor, defense and law enforcement

• Marathon County District Attorney, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, (715) 261-1111
• State Public Defender, Wausau office, 500 North Third Street, Suite 310, Wausau, (715) 842-1603; this office covers Marathon County only
• Marathon County Sheriff's Office, operator of the Marathon County Jail, 500 Forest Street, Wausau, (715) 261-1200
• Wausau Police Department, 515 Grand Avenue, Wausau, WI 54403, (715) 261-7800
• Mountain Bay Metro Police Department (Rothschild, Schofield, and the village and town of Weston), 211 Grand Avenue, Rothschild, WI 54474, (715) 359-3879
• Kronenwetter Police Department, 1582 Kronenwetter Drive, Kronenwetter, WI 54455, (715) 693-4215
• Mosinee Police Department, 225 Main Street, Mosinee, WI 54455, (715) 693-2000
• Marathon City Police Department, 311 Walnut Street, Marathon, WI 54448, (715) 443-2470
• Edgar Police Department, 224 South Third Avenue, Edgar, WI 54426, (715) 352-2891
• Athens Police Department, 221 Caroline Street, Athens, WI 54411, (715) 257-7611
• Colby-Abbotsford Police Department (covers the Marathon County parts of both cities), 112 West Spruce Street, Abbotsford, (715) 223-2313
• Juvenile intake: Marathon County Department of Social Services, Youth Justice, 1000 Lake View Drive, Suite 400, Wausau, (715) 261-7500

Whether the arrest happens on Grand Avenue in Wausau, on Interstate 39 near Mosinee or on a farm road outside Spencer, the person is driven to the Marathon County Jail for booking. Officers and jail staff record personal details, take fingerprints and a photograph, inventory property and check for warrants and holds from other agencies.

Release before seeing a judge

For many lower-level misdemeanors, officers issue a citation or the jail releases the person on a signature bond, which is a written promise to return to court; a dollar figure may be attached that becomes owed only if the person fails to appear. Some charges have a standard cash amount that can be paid at the jail right away. A domestic abuse arrest is different: Wisconsin law calls for arrest in many of these situations, and for the next 72 hours the released person may not contact the alleged victim or return to a shared home, unless the victim signs a waiver.

The pretrial assessment

Marathon County runs a pretrial program through its Justice Alternatives office. Before an in-custody defendant's first hearing, a pretrial assessor completes a Public Safety Assessment, a risk tool whose results are given to the court to help it decide on release conditions. People who are released may be assigned pretrial supervision matched to their risk level, which can include court-date reminders, check-ins and drug or alcohol testing.

The initial appearance

Anyone still held generally appears within about 48 hours before a circuit judge or court commissioner, usually by video from the jail. The court reviews whether there is probable cause, gives the defendant a copy of the criminal complaint, explains the right to a lawyer and sets conditions of release. Those conditions can be a signature amount, a cash figure, or both, along with rules such as no contact with a named person, no alcohol, or no possession of weapons. Since a 2023 amendment to the state constitution, judges setting cash for a person accused of a violent crime may consider the risk of serious harm to the public.

Posting cash

Wisconsin does not permit commercial bondsmen, so there is no bonding company to call in Wausau. The defendant or a family member pays the full cash amount at the jail or at the Clerk of Circuit Court's office, and it is returned at the end of the case, minus any fines, costs or restitution the court applies it to, if every court date is kept. Anyone who needs a lawyer for the next hearing can ask jail staff for a State Public Defender application.

The Marathon County Jail opened in 1988 inside the courthouse at 500 Forest Street and grew by 120 beds in 2000; it now has room for 279 people. It holds adults awaiting trial, people serving county sentences, and inmates housed under agreements with other jurisdictions, including federal defendants. Its main number is (715) 261-1700.

• Who is held: adults arrested anywhere in the county who are not released at booking, people who cannot meet the cash bail set by the court, people serving sentences of up to a year, and people held on probation or extended supervision holds for the Department of Corrections.
• Electronic monitoring: the Sheriff runs a jail diversion program in which minimum-risk inmates serve time on in-home detention with an electronic monitor.
• Huber release: a judge may allow a sentenced inmate to leave for work, school or treatment and return at set times.
• Juveniles: youths who need secure custody go to the Marathon County Juvenile Detention Facility, 7015 Packer Drive, Wausau, WI 54401, a separate building that holds up to 20 children. It is one of only a dozen secure juvenile detention centers in Wisconsin and accepts youths from other counties under contract.

Questions about release, visits or money for an inmate account go to the jail line. A person held at the jail who wants a public defender can ask staff for the State Public Defender's application form or call the Wausau office at (715) 842-1603.

The Wisconsin State Public Defender's Wausau trial office, at 500 North Third Street, Suite 310, serves Marathon County alone, which reflects the size of the county's caseload. Its phone is (715) 842-1603.

• How to apply: people held at the Marathon County Jail can request an application from jail staff, and an SPD representative often screens people before the initial appearance. Someone who is out of custody, whether released on a signature bond or cited, should call or visit the Wausau office as soon as the charge is filed.
• Who qualifies: the agency applies a strict financial test based on household income, assets and the cost of hiring a private lawyer for the type of charge. Many people with modest jobs do not qualify.
• If you do not qualify but cannot pay: a circuit judge may, in some cases, appoint a lawyer at county expense; ask the court at the first hearing.
• Who represents you: some clients are represented by SPD staff attorneys, while many others are assigned to private Wausau-area lawyers paid by the agency.

For a child in a delinquency case, the State Public Defender provides a lawyer whatever the parents earn.

Assistant district attorneys in the courthouse review police reports, decide what charges to file and negotiate pleas. Alongside regular prosecution, Marathon County's Justice Alternatives office ((715) 261-1191) runs a range of programs that can change how a case ends. Participation usually starts with a screening for alcohol, drug and mental health needs.

Diversion and deferred prosecution

• Pre-charge diversion: some low-risk first-time defendants are offered an agreement before any charge is filed; finishing it means no case is brought.
• Deferred prosecution and deferred entry of judgment: through the District Attorney's Office, a defendant either has charges held open or enters a guilty or no-contest plea that is set aside, then follows a supervised plan. Successful completion often ends in a dismissed or amended count.
• Justice Volunteer in Probation and the domestic violence track: for low-level first misdemeanors and minimal-level domestic or disorderly conduct charges, with counseling, groups or community service.
• Deflection: since 2022, officers and first responders can steer some people to services before an arrest is made.

Treatment courts and related programs

• OWI Treatment Court (since 2010): for people convicted of a fourth to sixth OWI with alcohol dependence; at least a year of intensive supervision and counseling as a probation condition, for up to 25 participants.
• Drug Treatment Court (since 2018): for high-risk drug offenders facing significant jail time; at least 14 months of treatment, testing and court check-ins.
• SSTOP (Safe Streets Treatment Options Program): for repeat OWI and driving after revocation or suspension; entering treatment early, often as a bond condition, can reduce the jail days later imposed.
• Day Report, education groups and community service, plus a case management and treatment program run with the Department of Corrections for medium- to high-risk defendants.

Admission to any of these programs is negotiated through the prosecutor and the court, so defendants should raise them with their lawyer, whether private or appointed by the State Public Defender.

Shoplifting at stores along the Rib Mountain and Stewart Avenue corridors, bar-time disturbances downtown, domestic calls and repeat drunk-driving arrests make up much of the misdemeanor docket in Wausau.

How a Marathon County misdemeanor moves

After booking at the Marathon County Jail, most people charged with a misdemeanor go home on a signature bond or with a court date on a citation. At the initial appearance the defendant receives the complaint and can plead not guilty, which leads to a pretrial conference with the assistant district attorney where most cases are settled. Defendants who cannot afford counsel should apply to the State Public Defender's Wausau office at (715) 842-1603 right away. Ask early whether deferred prosecution or a Justice Volunteer in Probation agreement is an option.

Penalties for the example charges in Marathon County

• Theft of $2,500 or less: a Class A misdemeanor, which in Marathon County means a possible 9-month jail term, a fine reaching $10,000, or both.
• Battery: Class A as well. A domestic abuse designation brings a surcharge and a federal firearm ban.
• Disorderly conduct: Class B, with up to 90 days in jail and fines capped at $1,000; it is often charged with a domestic abuse modifier.
• Criminal trespass to a dwelling: Class A.
• Second OWI within 10 years: a crime carrying 5 days to 6 months in jail, a fine, a license revocation and an ignition interlock. By contrast, a first OWI in Marathon County is a non-criminal forfeiture: $150 to $300 plus court costs, six to nine months without a license, an alcohol and drug assessment, and an ignition interlock when the test showed 0.15 or more or the driver refused testing.
• Class C misdemeanors, the lowest tier, are capped at 30 days in the Marathon County Jail and a $500 fine.

A Marathon County misdemeanor that goes to trial is decided by a jury of six. Results range from dismissal or a deferred agreement to fines, probation, or county jail, frequently with Huber release so the person can keep a job. A speedy trial demand generally requires a misdemeanor trial within about 60 days, though most cases close in two to six months.

Methamphetamine and fentanyl delivery cases, repeat OWIs, burglaries and thefts from employers fill much of the felony calendar in Marathon County. Most defendants in custody remain at the Marathon County Jail until they post the cash bail set at the initial appearance or the case ends.

The felony track in the Wausau courthouse

1. Complaint. The District Attorney files a criminal complaint laying out the facts that support each count.
2. Initial appearance. A judge or court commissioner confirms probable cause, sets release conditions and makes sure the defendant knows how to reach the State Public Defender.
3. Preliminary hearing. For someone held because they cannot pay the cash amount, the hearing should begin within 10 days of the initial appearance; for others, within 20 days. The only question is whether there is probable cause to believe a felony occurred, and the hearing is often waived during negotiations.
4. Information and arraignment. After bindover, the formal charging document, called an information, is filed, and the defendant answers it with a plea before the assigned judge.
5. Plea or trial. Plea bargains resolve the large majority of Marathon County felonies. A trial uses 12 jurors who must agree unanimously, and a speedy trial demand generally means a trial within 90 days.
6. Sentencing. The court may order a presentence investigation by the Department of Corrections, then chooses probation, jail as a probation condition, or prison.

What the example felonies carry

• Burglary: Class F, carrying a maximum of 12 years and 6 months behind bars and a $25,000 fine for a Marathon County conviction.
• Felony theft: Class I (3 years 6 months) when the value is over $2,500 and up to $5,000; Class H (6 years) over $5,000 and up to $10,000; Class G (10 years) beyond $10,000.
• Possession with intent to deliver: graded by drug type and weight; larger amounts of methamphetamine, heroin or fentanyl reach Class C, with up to 40 years.
• Substantial battery: Class I. Causing great bodily harm can be charged as aggravated battery, Class H, or Class E (15 years) if the harm was intended.

Under truth in sentencing, a Wisconsin prison term has two pieces, time in confinement and then extended supervision in the community, and nobody sentenced for a crime after 1999 is eligible for parole. At sentencing the judge may declare the person eligible for one of two earned release programs, Challenge Incarceration or the Substance Abuse Program, either of which can cut the confinement time. A term longer than one year is served in the state prison system. Expect six months to a year from complaint to resolution.

Homicides are uncommon in Marathon County, but shootings, serious assaults, armed robberies and sexual assault cases reach the Wausau courthouse regularly. A defendant in a case like this is typically held at the Marathon County Jail on high cash bail with no-contact orders, and the judge may weigh the danger of serious harm under the 2023 constitutional change.

Penalties a Marathon County judge can impose

• First-degree intentional homicide: Class A. Life in prison is mandatory; the judge sets the earliest date for release to extended supervision or orders that there be none.
• First-degree reckless homicide and second-degree intentional homicide are both Class B felonies, with a 60-year ceiling in Marathon County cases.
• First-degree sexual assault: Class B, so a Marathon County conviction can mean a sentence of up to 60 years. Where the victim is a young child, certain counts require a minimum period of initial confinement.
• Armed robbery: Class C, with up to 40 years and a $100,000 fine; a robbery charged without any weapon falls to Class E.

No sentence of death is possible in a Wausau courtroom; the state ended capital punishment in 1853.

The longer road

These cases follow the felony steps above, but crime-lab analysis, forensic interviews, mental health or competency evaluations and expert testimony mean that one to two years before trial is common. The State Public Defender's Wausau office usually assigns its most experienced attorneys, or seasoned private counsel, to homicide and major sexual assault cases. Victims hold rights under Marsy's Law, added to the Wisconsin Constitution in 2020, including notice of proceedings and a voice at sentencing; the District Attorney's victim-witness unit answers at (715) 261-1111.

Wisconsin prosecutes 17-year-olds as adults. Delinquency cases for children aged 10 through 16 are heard by the Marathon County Circuit Court sitting as juvenile court in the Wausau courthouse.

Intake by Social Services

Police and schools refer young people to the Youth Justice unit of the Marathon County Department of Social Services, 1000 Lake View Drive, Suite 400, Wausau ((715) 261-7500). An intake worker decides whether to close the matter, handle it informally, offer a deferred prosecution agreement, or send the case to the District Attorney with a recommendation for a formal petition. When intake decides to keep a child in secure custody, a judge or court commissioner should generally hold a custody hearing within 24 hours after that decision, with weekends and legal holidays left out of the count.

Where youths are held

Marathon County operates its own secure center, the Marathon County Juvenile Detention Facility at 7015 Packer Drive in Wausau, run by the Sheriff's Office for children aged 10 to 17 with room for 20. A staffing shortage closed it in late 2021, and Marathon youths were held in Portage County until it reopened in late 2022.

How cases can end

• Deferred prosecution through intake, or a consent decree after a petition, either of which puts the case on hold while the child meets set conditions.
• A finding of delinquency with in-home supervision, counseling, restitution, community service or electronic monitoring.
• Placement outside the home: a Type 2 placement that the county supervises, or a Type 1 correctional placement at Lincoln Hills School (boys) or Copper Lake School (girls) in Irma, about 30 miles north in Lincoln County.
• The Serious Juvenile Offender program, reserved for the gravest offenses and lasting up to five years.

Adult court for some youths

For some children 14 or older, the District Attorney may ask the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction so the case proceeds in adult court; the judge weighs the offense, the child's history and available treatment. Without any waiver, adult court generally has original jurisdiction over a youth 10 or older accused of felony murder, first-degree reckless homicide, or first-degree intentional homicide (including an attempt), and over certain youths already found delinquent who are accused of specific new offenses. A child facing a delinquency petition gets a State Public Defender lawyer no matter what the family earns. Juvenile court records are generally confidential.

Marathon County lies in the Western District of Wisconsin. Federal law still lists Wausau as a place where that court may sit, but in practice Marathon County prosecutions are docketed with the clerk in Madison, roughly 140 miles south, and the hearings are generally held there.

• Clerk of the federal court for the Western District: Room 320, 120 North Henry Street, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 264-5156
• Federal prosecutors (U.S. Attorney, Western District): Suite 700, 222 West Washington Avenue, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 264-5158
• Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin: Suite 1000, 22 East Mifflin Street, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 260-9900. If the defender has a conflict or the case has several defendants, a private attorney from the Criminal Justice Act panel is appointed instead.
• Pretrial Services and Probation (Western District): Suite 340, 222 West Washington Avenue, Madison, (608) 264-5165

When a Wausau-area arrest becomes a federal case

Drug-trafficking investigations along the Highway 51 and Interstate 39 corridor, often built jointly by local officers and federal agents, are a frequent source of federal charges from Marathon County. Federal prosecutors also take cases involving guns found on people barred from having them, bank holdups, child sexual exploitation over the internet, and schemes that defraud lenders, employers or public benefit programs. Marathon County has no reservation or national forest land, so tribal and federal-land jurisdiction rarely arises here.

How federal court works

A federal arrestee from Marathon County first sees a U.S. magistrate judge, who reads the charges and decides whether to appoint the federal defender or a panel lawyer. Federal judges do not set money bail the way a Wausau court commissioner does. Under the Bail Reform Act the options are to release the person under conditions that Pretrial Services officers monitor, or keep the person locked up, usually after a detention hearing held within three court days of the prosecutor's motion. A case started by complaint generally needs a grand jury indictment inside 30 days. On paper the Speedy Trial Act sets a 70-day clock for trial, yet continuances push most cases well past it.

Guilty pleas resolve most federal prosecutions. At a federal trial, all 12 jurors must agree on the verdict. A federal probation officer investigates the defendant's background for a presentence report, after which the judge calculates the advisory Guidelines range, applies any statutory mandatory minimum (common in drug-weight and some gun cases), and imposes a term served in a Bureau of Prisons facility. With parole abolished in the federal system, a prisoner can expect to serve roughly 85 percent of the sentence, followed by supervised release. A Marathon County defendant convicted in Madison may appeal to the Seventh Circuit, which sits in Chicago.

Finding a federal prisoner

To look up a person already in federal custody, enter a name or a register number in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Because the jail in Wausau houses inmates for federal agencies, a person awaiting a federal trial under a U.S. Marshals contract may also appear on that county jail's roster. Federal charges against juveniles are rare. A person charged only in state court should keep working with the State Public Defender rather than the federal defender.