Waushara County Juvenile Detention Criminal Court Process

1. Local courts in Waushara County (circuit court and municipal courts)

Which court hears your case. An ordinance ticket, or a first-offense OWI, which is a civil forfeiture in Wisconsin unless a child under 16 was a passenger, is heard by the municipal court of the community where it was issued if that community has one: the Wautoma Area Municipal Court for Wautoma, Hancock and Wild Rose, the village court in Plainfield, and the Lakeside Municipal Court for the Waushara County part of Berlin. Tickets from Redgranite, Coloma, Lohrville, Poy Sippi and the towns, and most State Patrol and deputy citations, generally go to the Waushara County Circuit Court unless the municipality has a court of its own; the citation lists where to appear. That circuit court also hears all misdemeanors and criminal traffic cases, including a second OWI, and all felonies from the initial appearance and preliminary hearing through trial. Criminal cases are divided between the two branches, and a court commissioner handles some first appearances.

Where pretrial inmates are held. Deputies and the Wautoma, Redgranite, Plainfield and other village officers bring arrested adults to the Waushara County Jail, 430 East Division Street, Wautoma. A person who is not released on a citation or signature bond waits there for a hearing before the judge or commissioner, usually within one business day. The Sheriff's Office at (920) 787-3321, which also runs the county's dispatch center, can confirm whether someone is in custody and what has to be posted.

• Waushara County Circuit Court (Branches 1 and 2) and Clerk of Circuit Court, Waushara County Courthouse, 209 South Saint Marie Street (P.O. Box 508), Wautoma, WI 54982; Clerk (920) 787-0441
• Waushara County District Attorney, Waushara County Government Center, 380 South Townline Road, 2nd Floor, Wautoma, WI 54982
• Waushara County Sheriff's Office, 430 East Division Street, Wautoma, WI 54982, (920) 787-3321
• Waushara County Jail, 430 East Division Street, Wautoma, WI 54982, through the Sheriff's Office at (920) 787-3321
• Wisconsin State Public Defender, Oshkosh office (serves Waushara and Winnebago counties), 303 Pearl Avenue, Suite B, Oshkosh, WI 54901, (920) 424-3304
• Waushara County Department of Human Services (juvenile intake), 380 South Townline Road, Wautoma, WI 54982, (920) 787-6550

The courthouse on South Saint Marie Street holds the circuit court and its clerk, while the District Attorney and Human Services work from the Government Center on South Townline Road. Waushara is in the Fourth Judicial Administrative District.

Circuit court

• Waushara County Circuit Court, Branch 1 and Branch 2, Waushara County Courthouse, 209 South Saint Marie Street, P.O. Box 508, Wautoma, WI 54982. Clerk of Circuit Court (criminal and traffic files, fines, court dates): (920) 787-0441

Municipal courts

• Wautoma Area Municipal Court (City of Wautoma and the villages of Hancock and Wild Rose; Wild Rose joined as of May 1, 2024), Wautoma City Hall, 210 East Main Street, P.O. Box 483, Wautoma, WI 54982, (920) 787-4044, extension 209
• Plainfield Municipal Court (Village of Plainfield), reached through the village office, 114 S. Main Street, P.O. Box 352, Plainfield, WI 54966, (715) 335-6501
• Lakeside Municipal Court (includes the City of Berlin, which reaches into Waushara County), office in North Fond du Lac, (920) 924-2479; Berlin cases are heard at Berlin City Hall, 108 North Capron Street

A municipal court rules only on local ordinance violations. Its sentences are forfeitures, costs and license penalties, and jail is possible only in narrow situations involving unpaid judgments. In some instances a person cited into municipal court may be able to have the case moved to the circuit court; the municipal clerk can explain the time limits.

Prosecution, defense and youth services

• Waushara County District Attorney, Government Center, 380 South Townline Road, 2nd Floor, Wautoma, WI 54982
• State Public Defender, Oshkosh office, 303 Pearl Avenue, Suite B, Oshkosh, WI 54901, (920) 424-3304
• Waushara County Department of Human Services, 380 South Townline Road, Wautoma, WI 54982, (920) 787-6550; after hours through the Sheriff at (920) 787-3321

Law enforcement

• Waushara County Sheriff's Office, 430 East Division Street, Wautoma, WI 54982, (920) 787-3321
• Wautoma Police Department, Wautoma City Hall, 210 East Main Street, Wautoma, WI 54982, (920) 787-4044, extension 208
• Redgranite Police Department, 161 Dearborn Street, Redgranite, WI 54970, (920) 566-2820
• Plainfield Police Department, 114 West Clark Street, Plainfield, WI 54966, (715) 335-6501
• Coloma Police Department, 383 Industrial Drive, Coloma, WI 54930, (715) 228-5430
• Hancock Police Department, 420 North Jefferson Street, Hancock, WI 54943, (715) 249-5521
• Wild Rose Police Department, Village Hall, 500 Main Street, Wild Rose, WI 54984, non-emergency (920) 622-4148
• Berlin Police Department (for the Waushara County side of Berlin), 108 North Capron Street, Berlin, WI 54923, (920) 361-0444

Wisconsin forbids commercial bail businesses, so cash set on a Waushara County charge is paid at the jail or the clerk's office by the defendant or a relative.

↑ Back to the top of the Waushara County court guide

2. Misdemeanor (for example, theft, battery, disorderly conduct, a second OWI)

Stops on Highway 21 and Interstate 39, summer lake crowds and household disputes supply most Waushara misdemeanors.

Getting out of jail

A minor arrest often ends with a citation or summons, or with release from the jail on a signature bond, a signed promise that may set an amount the person would owe for skipping court. People who are kept at the Waushara County Jail generally see a judge or court commissioner within 48 hours. For domestic abuse, arrest is required in many situations, and once released the person must avoid contact with the alleged victim for 72 hours unless the victim waives it in writing. At the initial appearance in Wautoma, the defendant gets the complaint and the court sets release terms, which can include posting cash, staying sober, or no contact.

Public defender

Waushara County defendants apply to the State Public Defender's Oshkosh office, (920) 424-3304, often through an interview at the jail. Its eligibility rules are strict. If someone does not qualify but cannot afford a private lawyer, the Waushara County judge may be asked to appoint one at county expense.

What a Waushara County conviction can bring

• For a Class A misdemeanor in Waushara County, such as battery, theft of $2,500 or less, or criminal trespass to a dwelling, the court may impose a jail term of up to 9 months and a fine of up to $10,000.
• Disorderly conduct, Class B, is limited to 90 days and $1,000, and a domestic abuse modifier adds a surcharge and federal and state gun restrictions.
• Waushara's judges may give no more than 30 days and a $500 fine for a Class C misdemeanor.
• A second OWI within ten years carries mandatory confinement from 5 days up to 6 months, together with a fine, license revocation, an assessment and an ignition interlock; a fourth is generally a felony.
• A first OWI is civil, with a forfeiture of $150 to $300 plus costs, revocation for 6 to 9 months, an assessment, and an interlock when the concentration was 0.15 or more or the driver refused.

Outcomes and timeline

Some cases are dismissed or diverted through a deferred prosecution agreement with the District Attorney; others end with a reduced charge, a fine, probation or jail, often with Huber privileges for work or treatment. Waushara County juries in misdemeanor trials have six people, and a speedy trial demand generally requires a trial within 60 days, with exceptions. Most cases are finished within two to six months.

↑ Back to the top of the Waushara County court guide

3. Felony (for example, burglary, felony theft, drug possession with intent to deliver, substantial battery)

Methamphetamine deliveries, cabin and outbuilding burglaries, repeat OWIs and cases arising inside Redgranite Correctional Institution, a state prison in the county, are regular parts of the Waushara felony docket.

The process

1. Booking. After a felony arrest, the person is held at the Waushara County Jail pending a first hearing.
2. Complaint. The District Attorney files a criminal complaint that lists the counts and summarizes the evidence.
3. Initial appearance. The judge or commissioner decides bail and conditions and asks whether the defendant has a lawyer. When the charge is violent, the 2023 constitutional amendment allows the court to weigh the risk of serious harm in setting conditions and cash bail.
4. Preliminary hearing. The court must find probable cause for a felony, within 10 days if the defendant is jailed on a bail that cannot be posted, or 20 days otherwise. Defendants often waive this hearing.
5. Information and arraignment. Once the case is bound over, the prosecutor files an information and the defendant enters a plea at arraignment in Wautoma.
6. Plea or trial. Plea agreements end most cases. A Waushara County felony jury has twelve members who must reach a unanimous verdict, and a speedy trial demand generally leads to trial within 90 days, with exceptions.

Maximums for the example charges

• Burglary (Class F): a Waushara County judge can impose up to 12.5 years and a $25,000 fine.
• Felony theft: Class I from $2,500.01 to $5,000; Class H from $5,000.01 to $10,000; Class G above that. The maximum prison terms are 3.5, 6 and 10 years.
• Possession with intent to deliver: the felony class depends on what the drug is and how much, ranging from Class I for small quantities of marijuana to Class C for large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine.
• Substantial battery is Class I, and aggravated battery is Class H, or Class E when the defendant intended great bodily harm.

Sentencing

Under truth in sentencing, a Wisconsin prison term combines initial confinement with extended supervision, and parole was eliminated for crimes after 1999. Sentences under one year are served in the Wautoma jail, and longer ones in the Department of Corrections. Probation is common for a first felony. Expect six months to a year from charge to sentence; the State Public Defender's Oshkosh office or an attorney it appoints represents eligible defendants.

↑ Back to the top of the Waushara County court guide

4. Violent felony (for example, homicide, sexual assault, armed robbery)

Waushara County sees few homicides or armed robberies, and these cases get the closest attention at the first hearing, where the District Attorney often asks for a large cash bail. A defendant who cannot post it stays at the Waushara County Jail until the case is over.

Penalties

• First-degree intentional homicide is a Class A felony with a required life sentence; the Waushara County judge sets a date for possible extended supervision or rules out release.
• Second-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide are Class B felonies, each with up to 60 years possible in Wautoma.
• First-degree sexual assault, also Class B, can bring up to 60 years, and some offenses against young children carry minimum prison terms.
• Armed robbery is a Class C felony carrying a maximum of 40 years, while a robbery committed without a weapon falls under Class E, with up to 15 years.

There is no death penalty in Wisconsin; it was abolished in 1853.

Timeline and rights

Crime lab work and defense motions on evidence or competency often push these cases to a year or two. Marsy's Law, which became part of the Wisconsin Constitution in 2020, gives victims rights to notice and to be heard at hearings, and the District Attorney's victim/witness staff explain those rights. Qualifying defendants are represented through the State Public Defender.

↑ Back to the top of the Waushara County court guide

5. Juveniles (under 17) arrested in Waushara County

In Wisconsin, a 17-year-old accused of a crime is treated as an adult. Children from 10 through 16 are handled by the Waushara County Circuit Court sitting as juvenile court at the Wautoma courthouse.

Intake

Juvenile referrals go to the Waushara County Department of Human Services, 380 South Townline Road, Wautoma, (920) 787-6550, which is reached through the Sheriff's Office after hours. The intake worker decides whether the youth goes home, to a non-secure setting, or into secure custody, and whether to close the referral, offer a deferred prosecution agreement, or recommend that the District Attorney file a delinquency petition.

Detention

Waushara County does not operate a secure juvenile detention center. Youth who must be held are taken to a center that contracts with the county, typically a regional facility such as the Portage County Juvenile Detention Center in Stevens Point. When a child is held, a custody hearing generally has to occur within 24 hours of the intake decision, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Every child in a delinquency case is entitled to a State Public Defender lawyer whatever the parents earn.

Outcomes

• A deferred prosecution agreement or a consent decree, ending with dismissal when the conditions are completed.
• A delinquency adjudication with supervision, restitution, community service, counseling, or placement in a foster home, group home or residential care center.
• For serious or repeated offenses, Type 1 placement at Lincoln Hills School (boys) or Copper Lake School (girls), a Type 2 placement, or the Serious Juvenile Offender program.

Adult court

The District Attorney may seek a waiver into adult court for a youth 14 or older charged with certain serious felonies, or 15 or older charged with any felony. Adult court has original jurisdiction, with no waiver hearing, over children 10 and older accused of attempted or first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide or felony murder, and over some youths with prior delinquency findings who commit specified new offenses. Juvenile files are generally kept confidential.

↑ Back to the top of the Waushara County court guide

6. Federal cases (U.S. District Court) from Waushara County

Unlike Green Lake and Marquette counties to its south, which go to Milwaukee, Waushara County is assigned to the Green Bay division of the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

• U.S. District Court, Green Bay Division, 125 South Jefferson Street, Suite 102, Green Bay, WI 54301, (920) 884-3720
• U.S. Attorney's Office, Green Bay branch, 205 Doty Street, Suite 301, Green Bay, WI 54301, (920) 884-1066
• Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin, Green Bay office, 801 East Walnut Street, 2nd Floor, Green Bay, WI 54301, (920) 430-9900; main office in Milwaukee, (414) 221-9900. The court appoints Criminal Justice Act panel attorneys when the defenders have a conflict.
• U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services, Green Bay, 125 South Jefferson Street, Room 301, Green Bay, WI 54301, (920) 884-7780

Federal charges

Most Waushara County crimes stay in the Wautoma courthouse. Federal prosecutors take cases such as drug distribution networks, gun possession by people barred by a felony or domestic violence conviction, bank robbery, online child exploitation, and fraud against banks, the mail or federal programs. Waushara County contains no tribal reservation land, and a crime at Redgranite Correctional Institution is a state matter because it is a state prison.

How the Green Bay court works

The State Public Defender does not take federal cases; a federal magistrate judge in Green Bay appoints counsel at the first appearance. Federal court does not use commercial bail. A detention hearing, if the government requests one, usually comes within three court days, and the magistrate applies the Bail Reform Act to either release the defendant on conditions supervised by Pretrial Services or order detention. A complaint must be followed by an indictment within 30 days, and the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day limit is often extended. Pleas resolve most cases, and a federal verdict from Green Bay jurors must be unanimous among all twelve. A presentence report precedes sentencing, where the judge considers the advisory Guidelines and any mandatory minimum. There is no federal parole, so about 85 percent of the sentence is served in the Bureau of Prisons before supervised release. Any appeal is taken to the Seventh Circuit, which sits in Chicago.

Locating a federal prisoner

Look up a federal prisoner from Waushara County by name or register number in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. A pretrial federal detainee boarded in a county jail for the Marshals Service can be listed on that jail's roster, too. Federal prosecutions of Waushara County juveniles are rare.

↑ Back to the top of the Waushara County court guide