Which court hears your case. If an ordinance citation or a first-offense OWI comes from inside Spooner's city limits, it normally goes to the Spooner Municipal Court; in Wisconsin a first OWI is a civil forfeiture, not a crime, unless a child under 16 was in the car. The same kinds of tickets issued anywhere else in the county, including Shell Lake, Minong and Birchwood, are heard in circuit court. All misdemeanors, criminal traffic charges and felonies are filed in the Washburn County Circuit Court, whose one judge handles the criminal calendar along with every other type of case. A felony's initial appearance, preliminary hearing, arraignment and any trial all take place in Shell Lake.

Where pretrial inmates are held. The Sheriff's jail on Highway 63 is the only adult lockup in the county, so a person arrested by Spooner, Shell Lake, Minong or Birchwood officers, by deputies or by the State Patrol ends up there. Inmates serving sentences may be granted Huber release. To check on someone in custody, call the jail and dispatch line at (715) 468-4720.

• Washburn County Circuit Court, Washburn County Courthouse, 10 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 339, Shell Lake, WI 54871; Clerk of Circuit Court (715) 468-4677
• Washburn County District Attorney, Courthouse, 10 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 344, Shell Lake, WI 54871, (715) 468-4675
• Washburn County Sheriff's Office, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, administration (715) 468-4700; dispatch and jail (715) 468-4720
• Washburn County Jail, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, WI 54871, (715) 468-4720
• Wisconsin State Public Defender, Spooner office (serves Washburn and Burnett counties), 514 Service Road, Suite A, Spooner, WI 54801, (715) 390-4560
• Washburn County Health and Human Services (juvenile intake), P.O. Box 250, Shell Lake, WI 54871, (715) 468-4747

Only one municipal court operates in Washburn County, serving the city of Spooner. Municipal court is limited to local ordinance violations, which are punished by forfeitures, and the judge can use jail only to enforce a forfeiture that has not been paid. A defendant may sometimes be able to shift a municipal case to the circuit court, for instance by asking for a jury trial within the time allowed, so check the citation and the court's instructions. Everything else is heard at the courthouse in Shell Lake.

Courts

• Washburn County Circuit Court, 10 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 339, Shell Lake, WI 54871. One branch; Clerk of Circuit Court (criminal, traffic and forfeiture cases) (715) 468-4677.
• Spooner Municipal Court (city of Spooner), P.O. Box 6, Spooner, WI 54801, (715) 635-7738

Other offices

• Washburn County District Attorney, 10 Fourth Avenue, Shell Lake, (715) 468-4675
• State Public Defender, Spooner office, 514 Service Road, Suite A, Spooner, (715) 390-4560
• Washburn County Sheriff's Office, keeper of the Washburn County Jail, 421 Highway 63, Shell Lake, (715) 468-4700
• Spooner Police Department, 305 Elm Street, Spooner, WI 54801, (715) 635-3527
• Shell Lake Police Department, 501 First Street, Shell Lake, WI 54871, (715) 468-7640
• Minong Police Department, 123 Fifth Avenue East, Minong, WI 54859, (715) 466-2266
• Birchwood Police Department, 101 North Main Street, Birchwood, WI 54817, (715) 354-3444
• Juvenile intake: Washburn County Health and Human Services, Shell Lake, (715) 468-4747

Summer tourism around the lakes and snowmobile season in winter bring a rise in OWI arrests and bar-related disturbances to Washburn County, on top of year-round theft and domestic cases.

After the arrest

Officers may simply hand out a citation for a minor offense. If the person is booked into the Washburn County Jail, release often comes on a signature bond, meaning no money is paid up front but an amount may be owed for skipping court. When cash is required, the defendant or a family member pays it directly at the jail or to the clerk, since Wisconsin bars commercial bonding businesses. Domestic abuse arrests trigger a 72-hour period during which the arrested person may not contact the alleged victim or return to that residence, unless the victim waives it in writing. A person who remains in custody usually sees the judge or a court commissioner within about 48 hours, frequently by video.

Getting a lawyer

The judge explains the charges and the right to counsel at the initial appearance. To apply for a public defender, tell jail staff or contact the Spooner SPD office at (715) 390-4560. Because the SPD uses a strict income and asset test, the circuit court may appoint a county-paid attorney for someone who fails the test but still cannot hire a lawyer.

Possible penalties

• Theft ($2,500 or less): Class A misdemeanor, up to 9 months in jail in Shell Lake and up to $10,000 in fines.
• Battery: Class A as well; a domestic abuse finding adds a surcharge and a federal firearm ban.
• Disorderly conduct: Class B, which allows no more than 90 days and $1,000.
• Second OWI within 10 years: mandatory jail of 5 days to 6 months, plus fines, revocation and an ignition interlock. A first OWI is handled as a forfeiture of $150 to $300 plus costs, with a revocation of 6 to 9 months and an alcohol or drug assessment.
• The lowest level, a Class C misdemeanor, tops out at 30 days and $500.

Juries of six hear misdemeanor trials in Washburn County, although most cases end in a negotiated plea, a deferred prosecution agreement or a dismissal. Sentences commonly involve probation, fines or jail with Huber privileges. Plan on two to six months; after a speedy trial demand, trial generally must start within 60 days.

Break-ins at seasonal cabins, methamphetamine and opioid cases, and repeat OWI charges (a fourth offense is generally a felony) are common felony filings in Washburn County.

Stages of a felony case

• Initial appearance. After the DA files a criminal complaint, the court reviews probable cause and sets cash bail or a signature bond with conditions such as no drinking or no contact. Since a 2023 constitutional amendment, a judge setting conditions for a person accused of a violent crime may consider the danger of serious harm to others.
• Preliminary hearing. Held within 10 days if the defendant is in custody on a cash amount they cannot pay, or within 20 days otherwise. Defendants often waive it.
• Information and arraignment. The DA files an information listing the charges, and the defendant enters a plea.
• Plea or trial. Negotiated pleas are the norm. A 12-person jury must agree unanimously, and a demand for a speedy trial generally sets a 90-day deadline.

Penalties for the example felonies

• Burglary: as a Class F felony, it can bring a Washburn County defendant up to 12 years 6 months and a $25,000 fine.
• Felony theft: Class I above $2,500, Class H above $5,000 and Class G above $10,000, with maximums of 3.5, 6 and 10 years.
• Possession with intent to deliver: the class turns on the drug and its weight, ranging up to Class C.
• Substantial battery: a Class I felony, so the Shell Lake judge can impose no more than 3.5 years.

A prison sentence under Wisconsin's truth-in-sentencing law includes a fixed period of initial confinement and a period of extended supervision; parole was eliminated for offenses after 1999. Shorter sentences, a year or less, are served in the county jail. The Challenge Incarceration and Substance Abuse programs can allow earlier release for eligible inmates. Many Washburn County felonies take six months to a year to finish.

Violent felonies are infrequent in Washburn County, and the Sheriff's Office often brings in state investigators when one occurs. Defendants are typically kept at the Washburn County Jail unless they can post the cash bail the court sets, which is often high.

Sentencing exposure

• First-degree intentional homicide: Class A, life in prison; the judge decides whether and when extended supervision becomes possible.
• Second-degree intentional homicide or first-degree reckless homicide: Class B felonies, each capped at 60 years in a Washburn County case.
• First-degree sexual assault: Class B, with mandatory minimum terms for some offenses against young children.
• Armed robbery: Class C, up to 40 years; plain robbery is Class E.

There is no death penalty in Wisconsin.

Pace and victims' rights

Serious cases often take one to two years because of crime-lab results, expert witnesses and motions, and the court may need to address pretrial publicity in a small county. Marsy's Law, part of the state constitution since 2020, guarantees victims notice, presence and a voice at key hearings. The victim/witness program in the District Attorney's office answers at (715) 468-4675.

Delinquency cases for children 10 through 16 are heard by the Washburn County circuit judge sitting as juvenile court in Shell Lake. A 17-year-old is treated as an adult under Wisconsin criminal law.

Intake and custody

Police send juvenile referrals to Washburn County Health and Human Services ((715) 468-4747). An intake worker can dismiss the referral, offer a deferred prosecution agreement, or ask the District Attorney to file a delinquency petition. If the youth is held, a judge or court commissioner should conduct a custody hearing within 24 hours of the intake decision, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.

Secure detention for youths

Washburn County does not run a juvenile detention center of its own. Youths who must be held securely are typically sent to a center in another county, such as the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Eau Claire. Families can ask intake staff where their child is being held.

Dispositions

• Deferred prosecution or a consent decree that can end in dismissal.
• Supervision at home with services, community service or restitution.
• Out-of-home placement, a Type 2 placement, or Type 1 correctional placement at Lincoln Hills School or Copper Lake School.
• The Serious Juvenile Offender program for the most serious offenses.

Transfer to adult court

For youths 14 and older facing certain charges, the DA can seek a waiver into adult court. Adult court also starts out with jurisdiction over children 10 and up accused of first-degree intentional homicide or its attempt, first-degree reckless homicide or felony murder, and over some juveniles with prior delinquency findings who are accused of particular new crimes. The State Public Defender appoints counsel for children. Juvenile records are generally confidential.

Federal crimes committed in Washburn County are prosecuted in the Western District of Wisconsin, whose clerk's office and courtrooms are in Madison.

• Western District of Wisconsin, Clerk's Office, 120 North Henry Street, Room 320, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 264-5156
• U.S. Attorney (Western District), 222 West Washington Avenue, Suite 700, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 264-5158
• Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin, 22 East Mifflin Street, Suite 1000, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 260-9900; Criminal Justice Act panel lawyers fill in when needed

Routes into federal court

Drug distribution networks, gun possession by people with disqualifying convictions, bank robbery, child pornography and fraud are the typical federal cases. The Namekagon River, part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, runs through the county, and crimes on that federal land may be charged in federal court. The Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation lies to the east in Sawyer County; like other Wisconsin reservations except Menominee, it falls under Public Law 280, so state courts handle most crimes there along with the tribe's own court.

Federal procedure

A U.S. magistrate judge conducts the first appearance and appoints counsel for those who qualify. Rather than setting a money bail, the court applies the Bail Reform Act and either releases the defendant under Pretrial Services supervision or orders detention; when the prosecutor asks for detention, a hearing is usually held within three court days. Charges filed by complaint must be followed by a grand jury indictment within 30 days, and the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day limit is commonly extended.

Most cases end in a plea. At trial, 12 jurors must all agree. Sentencing follows a presentence report, the advisory Guidelines and any mandatory minimum term. Federal inmates are not paroled; they serve about 85 percent of their sentence in Bureau of Prisons custody and then begin supervised release. Appeals are heard by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Searching for a federal inmate

Use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator with a name or register number. A Washburn County defendant awaiting federal court may be boarded in a county jail through a U.S. Marshals contract, in which case that jail's roster can list the person as well. Few juveniles are prosecuted federally.