Coronavirus Impacts on the Court System

As the situation regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus emergency continues to evolve, the criminal justice system in Wisconsin has been impacted by the CDC guidelines for social distancing and limiting personal exposure.

Each individual county has created their own set of guidelines on how cases are being handled for the next few weeks. Many counties have decided that all out-of-custody cases (cases in which the accused person is not currently in jail) are to be handled either by phone or rescheduled until at least mid-April. Some counties have not made any changes yet but are meeting to discuss what if any changes they want to make.

Most counties have decided that for in-custody cases (cases where the accused is currently in jail), all court dates and proceedings will continue as normal.

At this time, many counties are continuing with court dates for newly charged cases as scheduled. For example, if a person gets arrested over the weekend and is scheduled for court later in the week, they must still appear in person at their scheduled time.

It is still very important to contact our award-winning criminal defense attorneys to get representation on your case. Don’t assume that courts are shut down and you do not need help making bail arguments and navigating the system.