Court Procedures

Definition of Pleas

Guilty: This is an admission of the charge(s) against you. You will be able to explain any circumstances that you wish the Court to consider when imposing the sentence.

No Contest: This is similar to a plea of guilty and will be treated as a guilty plea. However, your plea cannot be used against you in any other Court proceeding to prove your civil liability if personal injury or property damage is involved. 

Not Guilty: This plea means that you wish to contest or deny the charge(s).

Operating While Intoxicated Cases: 
Only if you have been charged with Operating While Under the Influence, may you request a jury trial in St. Croix County. You must, however, give the court notice of this request within ten (10) days of your initial appearance or plea of not guilty; and post the required bond and jury fees.

Juveniles

Court procedure cont.

Juvenile Cases:

Juvenile non-traffic offenses are confidential and will be heard in closed conference room. The judge will explain the charges and ask the juvenile to enter a plea. Guilty, no contest and not guilty (see definition of please). The judge only sees guilty and no contest pleas at the initial appearance. If you plead not guilty a pre-trial conference will be scheduled with the Village Attorney (municipal prosecutor) on a different date, and this becomes the initial appearance.

Pre-trial conferences are seen the 3^rd Tuesday of each month, a notice will be sent to you.

Juveniles must be accompanied by a parent and have the same rights as adults in entering a plea. Juveniles are also required to pay any forfeiture imposed. If a juvenile fails to pay the forfeiture, his/her driver's license, or ability to obtain a driver's license, may be suspended for up to one (1) year.

Juvenile Defendant Rights

You have a right to the following information before you enter your plea to the charge:

• The charges and facts supporting the charge
• The nature and possible consequences of the proceedings
• The right to confront and cross-examine (question) any witnesses against you brought to the proceedings
• The right to compel the attendance, by subpoena, of any witness and ask questions of them. This is done for your trial
• The right to have the charges against you proven by clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence

Traffic Violations

If you are found GUILTY of a traffic offense, in addition to any judgment imposed by the court, the State Department of Transportation may assess demerit points against your driving record, which may result in the suspension or revocation of your driver’s license. The assessment of 12 or more demerit points in one year will result in the loss of your license.

Any person holding a probationary license will be assessed two (2) additional demerit points for the second and all subsequent violations. Juveniles cited for traffic ordinance violations are subject to the same forfeitures and court procedures as adults. For more information regarding the point system go to the Wisconsin DOT website. For information regarding Traffic Safety Point Reduction Classes, one option is Northwoods Technical Traffic Safety Point Reduction Class.

Trials

It is the municipal prosecutor (Village Attorney) who bears the burden of proving the case against each defendant by clear, convincing and satisfactory evidence.

The prosecution will produce its witnesses to testify as to the facts and circumstances surrounding your case. You or your lawyer will be permitted to cross-examine each witness. When the prosecution has completed its case, you and your witnesses will be given the opportunity to testify and will be subjected to cross-examination by the prosecution.

After all the evidence has been presented, the prosecution and the defense will be given an opportunity to summarize their respective cases to the court through brief argument. Thereafter, the Judge will determine the validity of the charges.

If the Judge finds you not guilty, you will be discharged and the citation dismissed. If you are found Guilty, the judge will impose a forfeiture, taking into consideration the seriousness of the violation and your past record. If necessary, you may have up to sixty (60) days to pay the forfeiture and costs.

Penalties For Non-Payment of Forfeitures

If needed, you may ask the Court for up to sixty (60) days to pay. Failure to pay in full or  contact the Court office by your due date (listed on the top of the citation), may result in  the Court taking one or more of the following actions:

• Suspension of your driving privileges for up to one (1) year
• Turn your debt over to a collection agency where you may be responsible for any additional costs incurred.
• Enter your debt into the Tax Refund Intercept Program.
• Enter your debt into the State Debt Collection Program.
• Issue a Writ of Commitment for your incarceration in the county jail.

Appeals

If you are found Guilty, you have the right to appeal your case to the St. Croix County Circuit Court. All appeals must be filed in writing in the Municipal Court office within twenty (20) days after a Guilty finding is entered. If you fail to meet this time limit, you lose your right to appeal. The appeal fee, forfeiture, and costs must be posted upon filing the appeal. You have the right to a Jury Trial on appeal, upon payment of appropriate fees.