If you were arrested in Reedsburg — or you got the call that someone you love is being held in the Sauk County Jail in Baraboo — the case is already in motion. Reedsburg has its own city police force and sits inside the reach of the Sauk County Sheriff, but a criminal charge does not stay in Reedsburg: the arresting agency forwards its reports to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office in Baraboo, which decides what to charge, and an initial appearance gets scheduled at the county courthouse whether you have a lawyer yet or not. What you say to an officer in the hours before that first hearing can shape everything that follows.

Mays Law Office represents clients across Wisconsin from our office in Middleton — including Reedsburg and the rest of Sauk County. The Sauk County Circuit Court sits at 515 Oak Street in Baraboo. Call 608-305-4518 for a free consultation before you give anyone else your account of what happened.

Criminal Defense Attorneys in Reedsburg, 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, the Dane County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the State Bar of Wisconsin. A criminal case out of Reedsburg is charged by the Sauk County DA’s office and heard by Sauk County judges in Baraboo, and knowing how a Wisconsin criminal case moves through the circuit court system is part of building a defense.

The job is the same in every courthouse — 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 Reedsburg, WI Criminal Defense Lawyers

Some situations should trigger a call the same day:

• You or a family member is in custody. After a Reedsburg arrest, booking happens at the Sauk County Jail, run out of the Law Enforcement Center at 1300 Lange Court in Baraboo, and an initial appearance follows — where bail gets set. Counsel should be in place before that hearing.
• An officer wants to “ask a few questions.” Miranda warnings are required only during custodial interrogation. If a reasonable person in your position would not 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, like 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 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 is 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 out on bond. Intentionally violating a bond condition is bail jumping under Wis. Stat. § 946.49 — a Class A misdemeanor on a misdemeanor case, a Class H felony carrying up to 6 years on a felony case. 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. If the court doesn’t take it up at that moment, the chance is gone for good.

Wisconsin Misdemeanor and Felony Penalties

Wisconsin sorts every crime into one of three misdemeanor classes or nine felony classes, and the class attached to your charge sets the 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 a $1,000 fine, and a Class C up to 30 days and a $500 fine.

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) to Class B (60 years) and Class A, which carries life imprisonment.

Under Wisconsin’s truth-in-sentencing system, a felony prison sentence is bifurcated: 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 Reedsburg and the rest of Sauk 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 the alleged victim’s written waiver 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 value is $2,500 or less, 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 — among the most frequently charged crimes in Wisconsin — is defensible more often than people assume, because the State must still prove the violation was intentional.

Where a Reedsburg Criminal Case Actually Goes

Reedsburg shares a joint municipal court with the neighboring communities of LaValle and Loganville, and that is exactly where a criminal case does not go. That municipal court handles only non-criminal city matters — ordinance violations and civil forfeitures — and a finding there rests on the “clear, satisfactory and convincing” civil standard under Wis. Stat. § 800.08(3), not the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The Reedsburg Police Department and the Sauk County Sheriff investigate and arrest, but every misdemeanor and felony arising in the area is prosecuted by the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office and heard in the Sauk County Circuit Court at 515 Oak Street in Baraboo — the county seat and the criminal courthouse for all of Sauk County.

After arrest and booking at the Sauk County Jail on Lange Court, the DA’s office 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 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.

Diversion is worth raising early, too. Where the local prosecutor’s office offers it, some defendants — often younger people facing certain lower-level offenses, and those without a serious record — may be able to negotiate a deferred or pre-charge arrangement that, on successful completion, ends with charges reduced, dismissed, or never filed. Whether such an option is available, what it requires, and whether it beats fighting the charge outright are judgment calls 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 to 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 day one.

Reedsburg Criminal Defense Questions We Hear Most

My arrest happened in Reedsburg — why is my case in Baraboo?

Because Reedsburg’s joint municipal court handles only non-criminal city matters, such as ordinance violations and civil forfeitures. Any misdemeanor or felony belongs to the Sauk County Circuit Court at 515 Oak Street in Baraboo, the county seat, and is prosecuted by the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office — not the city. If you’re holding paperwork and aren’t sure which track you’re on, that’s worth a phone 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 issues we examine.

What’s the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony in Wisconsin?

A felony is any crime punishable by state prison; everything else is a misdemeanor, punishable by county jail. Misdemeanors top out at 9 months (Class A); felonies run from a 3-year-6-month maximum (Class I) up to life imprisonment (Class A). The line also drives collateral consequences — a felony conviction means losing firearm rights, restorable only by a governor’s pardon.

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, under 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, can be lifted early only by the alleged victim’s signed written waiver, and violating it while it is in force is a new crime. Work through this with counsel, not around it.

Can I get my record expunged down the road?

Only if the foundation was 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 additional 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 — not from everything. 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 Reedsburg, 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, LLC — 6405 Century Ave STE 103, Middleton, WI 53562.