An arrest in Marshfield rarely stays a single-county matter, because Marshfield itself doesn’t sit in one county. The city spans the Wood–Marathon county line, and once a Marshfield police officer — or a county sheriff’s deputy, or a state trooper — makes an arrest, the first practical question is often which side of that line the alleged offense happened on. That answer decides which District Attorney reviews the reports, which circuit court sets your dates, and where you’ll appear. Booking, the charging decision, and an initial appearance can all move quickly after an arrest, whether or not you have a lawyer yet. The window before that first hearing — while officers may still want a statement and the charges haven’t hardened — is when a defense does its most important work. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you give anyone your account of what happened.

Criminal Defense Attorneys in Marshfield, WI

Attorney Stephen E. Mays has practiced law in Wisconsin since 1995 and was named a 2025 Wisconsin Super Lawyer in DUI/DWI defense. He belongs to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the State Bar of Wisconsin. For someone facing charges in Marshfield, that statewide Wisconsin footing matters more than it would in most cities: a case that begins with a Marshfield arrest may be charged by the Wood County District Attorney and heard in Wisconsin Rapids, or charged by the Marathon County District Attorney and heard in Wausau, depending on where the offense occurred — and knowing how each county’s circuit court actually runs is part of the defense.

The job is the same in every courtroom — hold the State to its burden on every element of every count. Was the stop lawful? Was the questioning constitutional? Does the evidence actually prove what the complaint alleges? Those are the questions a case needs answered from the start.

When to Call Our Marshfield, WI Criminal Defense Lawyers

Some situations should prompt a call the same day:

• Someone you love is in custody. Bail is set at the initial appearance, and that hearing can come quickly after booking. Counsel should be in place before it happens, not after.
• An officer wants a “quick word.” Miranda warnings are required only during custodial interrogation. If a reasonable person in your position wouldn’t consider the situation the equivalent of formal arrest, no warning is owed — and what you say can still be used against you, though other challenges, such as voluntariness, may remain.
• Police responded to a domestic incident at your home. Under Wisconsin’s mandatory-arrest law, Wis. Stat. § 968.075, officers who find reasonable grounds in the defined circumstances generally must make an arrest — even over the other person’s objection. A 72-hour no-contact provision then takes effect automatically, lifts early only if the alleged victim signs a written waiver, and violating it while it’s in force is a separate crime.
• The charge is a felony. You’re entitled to a preliminary hearing where the State must show probable cause — a stage the defense can use for early discovery.
• You’re already out on bond. Bail jumping under Wis. Stat. § 946.49 punishes the intentional violation of a bond condition — a Class A misdemeanor on a misdemeanor case, a Class H felony carrying up to 6 years and a $10,000 fine on a felony case — and it stacks on top of the original charge even if you’re later acquitted of that charge.
• You’re under 25 and worried about your record. Wisconsin expungement is narrow — it turns on your age, the offense, and your history — and eligibility must be granted at the sentencing hearing itself. Miss that moment and the chance is gone for good.

Wisconsin Misdemeanor and Felony Penalties

Wisconsin grades every crime into one of three misdemeanor classes or nine felony classes, and that single letter sets your maximum exposure. Under Wis. Stat. § 939.51, a Class A misdemeanor carries up to 9 months in county jail and a $10,000 fine, a Class B up to 90 days and $1,000, and a Class C up to 30 days and $500.

Felonies, under Wis. Stat. § 939.50, are punished with state prison. The ladder starts at Class I — up to 3 years and 6 months and a $10,000 fine — and climbs through Class H (6 years, $10,000), Class G (10 years, $25,000), Class F (12 years and 6 months, $25,000), Class E (15 years, $50,000), Class D (25 years, $100,000), and Class C (40 years, $100,000). The two most serious classes carry imprisonment alone with no fine attached: Class B reaches 60 years, and Class A carries life imprisonment.

Truth-in-sentencing shapes every felony term: the sentence is bifurcated into initial confinement followed by mandatory extended supervision in the community, with no traditional parole for offenses committed after 1999. If supervision is revoked for a rule violation, you can be reconfined for up to the time remaining on the bifurcated sentence — and time already spent in the community generally does not reduce that exposure.

Criminal Charges We Defend

Our Wisconsin criminal defense practice is built around the charges people in Marshfield, Wood County, and Marathon County actually face.

Disorderly conduct, Wis. Stat. § 947.01, is the catch-all Class B misdemeanor — but the State must prove both the conduct and circumstances tending to provoke a disturbance, so context and First Amendment defenses matter. Battery, Wis. Stat. § 940.60, scales with the harm alleged: simple battery is a Class A misdemeanor, substantial battery a Class I felony, and aggravated battery a Class H or Class E felony depending on intent. When battery or disorderly conduct arises between spouses or former spouses, adults who live together or formerly lived together, or adults with a child in common, the domestic-abuse framework attaches — mandatory arrest when the statutory conditions are met, followed by the automatic 72-hour no-contact period that only a signed written waiver from the alleged victim can lift early.

Drug charges under Wis. Stat. § 961.41 escalate quickly. First-offense marijuana possession is an unclassified misdemeanor carrying up to 6 months and a $1,000 fine, but a second possession offense of any drug is a Class I felony, and first-offense possession of a Schedule I or II narcotic drug — or methamphetamine — is a Class I felony from the start. Possession-with-intent charges are all felonies graded by weight, and prosecutors often build the “intent” element from circumstantial pieces like baggies, a scale, or cash.

Theft under Wis. Stat. § 943.20 is a Class A misdemeanor when the property’s value does not exceed $2,500, climbing by value to a Class G felony above $10,000 and a Class F felony above $100,000; theft of a firearm is a Class H felony regardless of value. And bail jumping under Wis. Stat. § 946.49 is defensible more often than people assume, because the State still must prove the violation was intentional.

Where a Marshfield Criminal Case Actually Goes

Marshfield is one of the handful of Wisconsin cities built across a county line, and that fact drives where a criminal case is handled. Criminal venue follows where the offense occurred, not where you live: under Wis. Stat. § 971.19, a misdemeanor or felony is prosecuted in the circuit court for the county in which the crime was committed. So a charge arising on the Wood County side of Marshfield is filed with the Wood County District Attorney’s Office and heard in the Wood County Circuit Court, in the county seat of Wisconsin Rapids at 400 Market Street; a charge arising on the Marathon County side goes to the Marathon County District Attorney’s Office and the Marathon County Circuit Court, in the county seat of Wausau at 500 Forest Street. One of the first things we confirm is which county the offense occurred in, because the answer determines who prosecutes, which court sets your dates, and where you appear.

Whichever county it lands in, municipal courts are not part of the criminal track. A municipal court can hear only non-criminal ordinance matters — civil forfeitures where the burden of proof is “clear, satisfactory and convincing,” never the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Every misdemeanor and felony goes to the circuit court for the county where the offense occurred.

After arrest and booking, the District Attorney for that county reviews the reports and decides whether to file a criminal complaint — prosecutors can decline or amend charges on review. At the initial appearance the court states the charges, advises you of your right to counsel, and sets bail. Wisconsin has no commercial bail bondsmen — release is by signature bond or by cash bond posted directly with the court — and since the 2023 constitutional amendments, judges in violent-crime cases may weigh prior violent convictions and the need to protect the community from serious harm when setting bail.

A felony case then generally moves to a preliminary hearing — unless the defense waives it — where the State must establish probable cause before an Information is filed and the case proceeds to arraignment; misdemeanor arraignments typically happen at the initial appearance itself. Discovery, pre-trial motions — suppression above all — and plea negotiations follow. If nothing resolves, the case goes to trial, where every element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

One diversion route is worth knowing early: some Wisconsin counties offer deferred-prosecution or diversion agreements that can end with charges reduced or dismissed — whether that path exists for a given case depends on the county and the charge. Whether to pursue diversion or fight the charge is a judgment call we make with you, based on the evidence.

How We Defend Criminal Charges

Every file gets worked on at least three fronts. The first is the search and the seizure: warrantless searches are presumptively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, and Wisconsin’s appellate courts keep redrawing the lines on warrantless home entries, blood draws, and cell phone extractions. Where police overstepped, a motion to suppress can pull the resulting evidence out of the case.

The second is the questioning. Because Miranda protects you only during custodial interrogation, the fight is frequently over whether you were actually “in custody” when you talked. A statement taken in violation of your rights can be suppressed — and many prosecutions don’t survive losing the statement.

The third is the State’s proof itself. Every charge has statutory elements the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt: disorderly conduct takes more than rudeness, battery and theft require intent, and an “intent to deliver” theory stitched together from circumstantial inference can be pulled apart. Where the facts support it, self-defense under Wis. Stat. § 939.48 enters the case — and the threshold for getting that instruction in front of a jury is low.

We also defend with the aftermath in mind. A felony conviction ends firearm rights — only a governor’s pardon can restore them; convictions in categories like drug offenses, domestic violence, or crimes involving moral turpitude can complicate immigration status; and employers may act on a record that “substantially relates” to the job. Those stakes shape charge-bargaining strategy from the beginning.

Marshfield Criminal Defense Questions We Hear Most

My criminal case is in Marshfield — which county’s court will actually hear it?

It depends on where the offense occurred. Marshfield spans the Wood–Marathon county line, and under Wis. Stat. § 971.19 criminal venue follows the location of the offense, not your home address. A charge arising on the Wood County side is filed in the Wood County Circuit Court in Wisconsin Rapids, at 400 Market Street; one on the Marathon County side goes to the Marathon County Circuit Court in Wausau, at 500 Forest Street. That also decides which District Attorney’s office prosecutes and where you appear. Municipal courts don’t enter into it — they can hear only non-criminal ordinance matters, never a crime. If you’re holding paperwork and aren’t sure which county you’re in, that’s worth a call before your first court date.

The police never read me my rights. Does that get my case thrown out?

By itself, usually not. Miranda applies only to custodial interrogation, and the remedy for a violation is normally suppression of the statement, not dismissal of the case. But a confession is often the spine of the State’s evidence — take it away and the case can collapse — so it’s among the first things we examine.

My partner wants the domestic abuse charge dropped. Will it be?

Not automatically. The charging decision belongs to the District Attorney, not the alleged victim — part of the same framework that required the arrest once officers found the statutory criteria met. The 72-hour no-contact provision begins automatically after the arrest and can be lifted early only if the alleged victim signs a written waiver; violating it while it’s in force is a new crime. Work through this with counsel, not around it.

How does bail work if someone is arrested in Marshfield?

Wisconsin has no bail bondsmen, so bail is posted directly with the court — either a signature bond, which is a written promise to appear, or a cash bond in the amount the court sets. Bail is set at the initial appearance, which can come quickly after booking, so having counsel in place early matters. In violent-crime cases, judges may now weigh prior violent convictions and the need to protect the community from serious harm when setting the amount. How and when a bond is posted is worth a quick conversation with counsel first.

Can I get my record expunged down the road?

Only if the foundation is laid at sentencing. Wisconsin’s expungement statute, Wis. Stat. § 973.015, requires that you were under 25 at the time of the offense, that the charge carried a maximum of 6 years or less (with added restrictions for Class H and I felonies and certain excluded offenses), that the court found expungement would benefit you without harming society — and, critically, that the judge granted expungement eligibility at the sentencing hearing itself. Even then, it takes effect only after you successfully complete the sentence, and it seals the conviction from the public court record only — it does not erase the conviction. The record can still appear on Department of Justice background checks, stays visible to law enforcement and certain licensing authorities, and expungement does not restore firearm rights. Retroactive expungement is not allowed; if the moment passes, the door closes for good.

Get a Free Consultation

Se Habla Español — Call 608-305-4518

If you’re facing a criminal charge in Marshfield, the earliest days after an arrest are when a defense takes shape. Call 608-305-4518 or contact Mays Law Office online for a free consultation. Mays Law Office represents clients across Wisconsin from our office in Middleton — including Marshfield and Wood County.