Criminal Defense Lawyer in Waupun, WI

An arrest in Waupun can move faster than most people expect. Waupun sits on a county line — predominantly in Dodge County, with a portion reaching into Fond du Lac County — and the first thing that happens after a Waupun arrest is that the case gets sorted into whichever county’s system the offense occurred in. From there, a county sheriff’s deputy, a Waupun police officer, or a state trooper hands the reports to that county’s District Attorney, who decides what to charge, and an initial appearance gets set at that county’s circuit court whether you have a lawyer yet or not. 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 Waupun, 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. That Wisconsin footing matters for a Waupun case in a concrete way: because the city straddles two counties, the same conduct can be charged and heard by two different District Attorneys’ offices and two different sets of circuit court judges, and knowing how each county’s court actually runs is part of the defense. Waupun is a working city — production, retail, and public-sector jobs anchor it — and a criminal conviction reaches straight into that livelihood.

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 Waupun, 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). At the top, Class B carries up to 60 years and Class A carries life imprisonment — and those two top classes carry no fine, only 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 Waupun and the surrounding counties 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 reside together or formerly resided 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 signed 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 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 Waupun Criminal Case Actually Goes

Because Waupun sits on a county line, the first thing a criminal case does is settle where it will be heard — and that turns on which county the offense occurred in, not where you live. A charge arising on the Dodge County side is prosecuted by the Dodge County District Attorney’s Office and heard in the Dodge County Circuit Court at 210 W. Center Street in Juneau, which runs four circuit court branches; a charge arising on the Fond du Lac County side is prosecuted by the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office and heard in the Fond du Lac County Circuit Court at 160 S. Macy Street in Fond du Lac, which runs five branches. Municipal courts, in either county, hear only non-criminal ordinance matters — where the burden of proof is a mere “clear, satisfactory and convincing,” never the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt” — so every misdemeanor and felony arising from a Waupun arrest is a circuit court matter in the county where it occurred.

After arrest and booking, the responsible 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 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.

Waupun Criminal Defense Questions We Hear Most

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

That depends on which county the offense occurred in, because Waupun sits predominantly within Dodge County with a portion in Fond du Lac County. A criminal charge arising on the Dodge County side is filed in the Dodge County Circuit Court at 210 W. Center Street in Juneau and prosecuted by the Dodge County District Attorney’s Office; one arising on the Fond du Lac County side is filed in the Fond du Lac County Circuit Court at 160 S. Macy Street in Fond du Lac and prosecuted by that county’s District Attorney’s Office. Venue follows where the offense occurred — not your home address — so pinning down which court has your case is one of the first things we confirm. Municipal courts, in either county, can hear only non-criminal ordinance matters, never a crime.

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, and violating it while it’s 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 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 it. 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. It is a one-time opportunity; if the moment at sentencing 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 Waupun, 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 Waupun and Dodge County. Mays Law Office, LLC — 6405 Century Ave STE 103, Middleton, WI 53562.