Criminal Court FAQ
You should first contact your attorney. If you are not represented, you may contact the District Attorney’s office at (608) 935-0393 or write the Judge a letter with your request. You may submit a letter to the Judge by fax (608) 935-0386, in person or by mail (222. N. Iowa Street, Dodgeville, WI 53533).
The first step is to contact the State Public Defender’s office at (608) 401-2030. They can conduct a qualification interview over the phone. If you qualify, they will assign you an attorney. If you do not, you can get a Petition for Appointment of Attorney form and file it with the circuit court. The Judge will determine if you are indigent to qualify for a court appointed attorney. If you are not indigent, you will need to hire an attorney at your own expense.
If you pay a bond for someone, the money will stay with the case until its disposition. If there is money owed on the case, the bond money will be applied automatically. If the defendant has other outstanding debts, the Court can order the bond forfeited to pay towards those debts.
Yes. Unless you are told by the Judge, the District Attorney, or your attorney that you do not need to, you need to appear in court. Failure to appear could result in a warrant.
You can but an attorney could be very beneficial for you. If you chose to forego representation, you would need to fill out and submit a Right to Attorney Waiver and submit it to the Clerk of Court and your rights will be reviewed with you. Once accepted, you then can have an opportunity to contact the District Attorney’s office to discuss your case.
No. The Judge is not allowed to discuss anything in regards to a case unless all case parties are present. Any requests of the Judge must be in writing and be cc’d to all other parties (prosecutor, other attorneys, etc).
Yes. Most cases within the Clerk of Courts office are open record, unless ordered sealed or confidential. You can view your file on our public access computer located at our office counter.
There are certain statutory requirements that are needed in order to request expungement of a case. Check with your attorney or the prosecuting attorney to request information.
The State of Wisconsin has established a retention schedule that mandates maintenance of criminal traffic and misdemeanor cases for 20 years. Criminal felony cases are kept for 50 years (Class A felonies for 75 years).
Yes. You can request copies of documents from your case file and will be charged $1.25/page. Payment is required before releasing the documents.
No. We no longer accept payments via telephone. You may submit cash, check, money order or cashier’s check to the Clerk of Courts office in person or by mail. Or you can pay fines online at www.wicourts.gov/payonline.html
Contact your attorney as soon as possible. If you are not represented, contact our District Attorney’s office at 608-935-0393. You will need to present yourself in Court, in person, to request the warrant be vacated.