Criminal Court Cases in Walworth County
All Wisconsin felony and state misdemeanor prosecutions filed in Walworth County are heard in Walworth County Circuit Court. Four branches share the Judicial Center in Elkhorn. Case numbers help sort the docket: CF marks a felony, CM marks a criminal misdemeanor, and CT marks criminal traffic. The branch assignment can vary, so the case entry, not a guess based on charge type, identifies the assigned judge and hearing room.
The Clerk of Circuit Court is the custodian of the prosecution file. That file begins when the Walworth County District Attorney files a criminal complaint and can grow to include motions, orders, hearing records, a judgment, and sentence terms. Municipal courts remain separate. They hear city ordinance and traffic forfeiture cases rather than felony prosecutions, and their local records do not populate the circuit-court index just because the event occurred in Walworth County.
Walworth County WCCA Case Search
Wisconsin's CCAP overview explains the public access system behind Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, or WCCA. The image below shows the official public-access context for Walworth County court records.
WCCA is a free statewide index with terms and a CAPTCHA. It can show parties, filed charges, dates, court events, financial entries, and case status, but it does not sell or display the underlying complaint, motion, order, or transcript as a downloadable case packet.
Note: WCCA can identify a docket item, but the Walworth County clerk supplies the official document or certified copy.
Walworth County Case Record Searches
Begin at Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. A legal name works for discovery, while an exact case number is the cleanest route to a known file. Common names require care. Compare the middle name or initial, date of birth when shown for a criminal defendant, county, filing date, and case type before treating a result as a match.
- Open WCCA, accept its terms and verification step, then choose the circuit-court search.
- Search by the party's legal name or enter the full Wisconsin case number.
- Choose Walworth County and use birth date, filing period, status, or case type to narrow possible matches.
- Open the case and read charges, pleas, event history, disposition, and judgment as separate fields.
- Give the exact case number and docket item to the Walworth County clerk when requesting inspection, copies, certification, or an older file.
Portal controls can change, but these core fields reflect the official interface documented for Walworth County case research.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last name | Text | Yes for name route | Use the legal spelling. |
| First and middle name | Text | No | Strongly useful for common surnames. |
| Case number | Text | Yes for case route | A format may resemble 2024CF000123. |
| Date of birth | Date or text | No | Helps distinguish criminal defendants. |
| County, status, type, date | Select or filter | No | Choose Walworth and refine as needed. |
Note: A common-name result needs corroboration from several identifiers before it can support a reliable Walworth County case match.
Four Walworth County Circuit Branches
The Wisconsin circuit court directory lists four Walworth County branches at 1800 County Road NN, Elkhorn, Wisconsin 53121. The shared site matters: a criminal case may be assigned to any branch, but the clerk's main counter remains the records custodian.
Branches 1 and 2
Branch 1: Judge Estee Scholtz, 262-741-7024
Branch 2: Judge Daniel S. Johnson, 262-741-7052
Branches 3 and 4
Branch 3: Judge Kristine E. Drettwan, 262-741-7005
Branch 4: Judge Samuel T. Berg, 262-741-7023
The Walworth County Clerk of Circuit Court page supplies the public-counter source shown below. It should be consulted again before calling because hours and office details can change.
The main clerk line is 262-741-7012. Public hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with Wisconsin Relay 7-1-1 available as the judiciary's statewide TTY and TDD route.
What a Criminal Case File Contains
A Walworth County case file records the prosecution, not merely the arrest. The docket may identify the prosecutor, defense counsel, assigned branch, filed statutes, bond events, hearings, pleas, rulings, disposition, sentence, and public financial obligations. The labels for documents may be visible in WCCA even when the document image is not.
| Case number and court | Identifies county, filing year, case type, sequence, assigned branch, and status. |
|---|---|
| Charging document | The complaint or information states the charges filed by the prosecution and the alleged facts. |
| Docket entries | Dated events record filings, court appearances, motions, orders, warrants, and post-judgment activity. |
| Hearings | Past and future activities may list date, time, branch, court official, and hearing type. |
| Disposition and judgment | Each count should be read for dismissal, acquittal, guilty or no-contest plea, verdict, and judgment. |
| Sentence and conditions | Public entries can show custody, probation, extended supervision, financial terms, and payment information. |
One case can contain different outcomes across counts. Read the filed charge, plea, and final disposition on the same count before drawing a conclusion.
Walworth County Case Codes Explained
Wisconsin case prefixes provide a quick map. CF means a felony prosecution, CM means a criminal misdemeanor, and CT means criminal traffic. A municipal citation is different. It is generally an ordinance or traffic forfeiture matter kept by the municipal court, so it may never appear as a Walworth County circuit case in WCCA.
- Filed charge
- The offense the District Attorney placed before the circuit court. It may differ from the officer's arrest charge.
- Plea
- The defendant's formal response to a count, such as not guilty, guilty, or no contest.
- Disposition
- The outcome of that count, including dismissal, acquittal, or judgment of conviction.
- Dismissed
- The count ended without a conviction in that case. The event history may still remain public.
For Lake Geneva, Whitewater, Delavan, or another city citation, contact the named municipal court. A state misdemeanor or felony filed by the Walworth County District Attorney belongs in circuit court.
Wisconsin's felony classes and misdemeanor classes set maximum penalties. A class label is not a prediction of the sentence in a Walworth County case. Enhancers can affect exposure, and a bifurcated felony sentence separates confinement from extended supervision.
Note: Read every count separately because one Walworth County case can contain convictions, dismissals, and amended charges at once.
Criminal Case Stages in Walworth County
A prosecution can start after arrest or by summons. The initial appearance addresses the charge, counsel, and bond conditions. Qualifying felony cases may have a preliminary hearing before the information and arraignment. Motions and pretrial conferences follow. A plea or trial resolves the charge, and a conviction leads to judgment and sentencing. Appeals and later motions create more docket events.
Case flow: Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
The sequence does not supply a fixed local timetable. Wisconsin law calls for an initial appearance without unnecessary delay, while later dates depend on custody, motions, court schedules, and case complexity. The Wisconsin State Public Defender appoints counsel for financially eligible people in qualifying cases; WCCA can identify counsel, but the clerk and prosecutor do not give defense advice.
Walworth County OWI Court Results
The county's named OWI Court adds local context beyond a standard docket. An official Walworth County budget narrative reported 21 participants from August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024. It listed 10 admissions, eight graduations, an 86.5 percent completion rate, and 5,335 jail days saved.
Those figures describe program operations, not the guilt, sentence, or progress of any one person. A participant's actual court record must still be read case by case. Treatment-court activity can appear through status hearings, program conditions, sanctions, or completion entries, but the docket and judgment control the legal outcome.
Access Rules for Case Records
Wisconsin law begins with a strong presumption of public access, but online access is not identical to access at the clerk's office. WCCA omits Social Security numbers, financial security data, juror identifiers, and protected victim or citizen-witness names and addresses. Juvenile matters under chapter 938, sealed cases, and confidential documents may be unavailable. A lawful restriction controls even when another docket field remains public.
If a known Walworth County case does not appear online, call the clerk with the person's legal name, approximate filing year, and any old case number. Pre-automation and archived material may need a manual search. Ask whether inspection, an ordinary copy, a certified copy, or a transcript is needed. No current Walworth-specific copy or certification fee was confirmed in the research, so obtain the price before ordering.
Walworth County Federal Case Layer
Walworth County lies in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. A federal prosecution will not appear as a state circuit prosecution in WCCA. Search PACER for federal docket sheets and filed documents after account registration. The official image below identifies the separate federal record-access channel.
PACER generally charges ten cents per page, uses a per-document cap, and waives quarterly charges of $30 or less under the researched judiciary schedule. The Eastern District of Wisconsin and its clerk remain the official sources. State and federal searches should be treated as separate layers, not duplicate indexes.