Battery Charges in Wisconsin: The Degrees and the Defenses
The word covers an enormous range. A shove in a bar parking lot that leaves a bruise is a battery. So is a punch that fractures an orbital bone, and so is a blow that costs someone the permanent use of a hand. Wisconsin sorts that range into degrees, and the degree is not a […]
Wisconsin Gun Charges: Felon in Possession and Concealed-Carry Violations
Two very different cases get filed under the same heading. In one, a person with a felony conviction from years ago is found in a car with a firearm in the glovebox, and is charged with a felony carrying up to a decade in prison. In the other, a person with no record at all […]
Wisconsin Bail and Signature Bonds: How Pretrial Release Actually Works
The single most consequential thing that happens in a Wisconsin criminal case usually happens in the first day or two, before anyone has looked hard at the evidence. A judge or court commissioner decides the terms on which the defendant goes home — or whether the defendant goes home at all. People who are released […]
Operating After Revocation or Suspension in Wisconsin: When Driving on a Bad License Becomes Criminal
Two of the most common criminal-side traffic charges in Waukesha County and Milwaukee are also the two most commonly misunderstood: operating after revocation and operating while suspended. People treat them as paperwork problems. Then a second one arrives, or a third, and a client who has never been accused of hurting anyone is looking at […]
Domestic-Violence Charges in Wisconsin and the 72-Hour No-Contact Rule
The call comes late, and it is rarely from the person arrested. Someone has been taken from the house in Waukesha County or Milwaukee, the squad has pulled away, and the family is left standing in a kitchen trying to work out what just happened and when the person taken away is coming home. The […]
Arrested in Wisconsin? Your Rights During a Stop, a Search, and Questioning
Almost everything that decides a criminal case in Wisconsin happens before the courthouse doors ever open. It happens on a shoulder of Highway 100, in a squad car, in a kitchen doorway, in an interview room with a styrofoam cup of water on the table. By the time a defense lawyer sees the file, the […]
Charged With Drug Possession in Wisconsin? What You’re Actually Facing
A drug-possession charge is one of those events that feels, in the moment, like a single catastrophe. In fact it is a set of specific questions, and the answers determine everything about what happens next — whether you are looking at a misdemeanor or a felony, whether jail is realistically on the table, and whether […]
What Is a Deferred Prosecution Agreement in Wisconsin — and Could It Keep a Conviction Off Your Record?
For many people facing a first serious charge, the fear is not really the fine or even the possibility of jail. It is the word conviction — the permanent mark that follows a person onto every job application, every apartment lease, every professional license form for the rest of their life. What is often not […]
Misdemeanor or Felony? What the Charge Level Means in Wisconsin
When a person is first charged with a crime, the question underneath all the others is simple: how much trouble am I actually in? In Wisconsin, a large part of the answer is contained in two words on the charging document — whether the offense is a misdemeanor or a felony, and which class within […]
How Wisconsin Handles Drug Possession Charges
Wisconsin drug possession charges range from misdemeanor to felony depending on the substance and amount. Here’s what the law says and what your options are.