Washington County lies north-west of Milwaukee, in the Third Judicial Administrative District alongside Waukesha, Ozaukee, Dodge and Jefferson counties. Its circuit court has four branches, against twelve in Waukesha to the south — a considerably smaller bench, and that has consequences worth understanding before a first appearance.
The courthouse
Circuit court matters are heard at the Washington County Courthouse, 484 Rolfs Avenue in West Bend. Criminal, family, civil, juvenile and probate matters are all heard there.
What a smaller county changes
In a county of this size a case is likely to remain with one judge throughout, and the lawyers on both sides appear before that judge continually. The upside is predictability: motions are heard on a sensible timetable and a scheduling problem can usually be solved by asking. The downside is that a poor first impression is durable in a way it is not in a court hearing hundreds of files a week. What is said at an initial appearance in West Bend tends to still be in the room at sentencing.
Germantown, Hartford, and the municipal courts
Washington County’s municipalities include West Bend, Germantown, Hartford, Slinger, Jackson, Richfield, Kewaskum and Newburg. Germantown in particular sits on the Waukesha and Milwaukee county approaches and issues a steady volume of traffic and ordinance citations to drivers who do not live there. Those citations return to Germantown’s municipal court, not to the courthouse at West Bend, and the two are not on the same schedule or in the same direction.
What Carson Law Office handles in Washington County
Criminal defense and OWI at every offense level, family law, consumer bankruptcy under Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and personal injury. The office is in New Berlin, roughly forty minutes south of West Bend.
Practice areas: Criminal defense · Family law · Bankruptcy · Personal injury
Talk to a lawyer before you talk to anyone else
Carson Law Office is at 15350 W. National Ave., Suite 101, New Berlin, and Attorney Christopher S. Carson has practiced in southeastern Wisconsin for thirty-four years. The first consultation costs nothing, and the useful time to have it is before a plea date, before a financial disclosure is filed, and before you give a statement.
Call (262) 860-8932 or send a message through the contact page. If your matter is in Washington County, say so when you call — where a case is venued changes what happens next.
This page is general information about Wisconsin law and the courts of Washington County. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.