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Reference Guide

Class A Misdemeanor in Wisconsin: Penalties, Examples, Defense

A Class A misdemeanor in Wisconsin carries up to 9 months in jail and $10,000 under § 939.51(3)(a). Verified examples, expungement, the ordinance alternative.

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What a Class A misdemeanor means in Wisconsin

Class A is the top misdemeanor class and the one that fills the criminal-misdemeanor calendars in Racine and Kenosha: battery, retail theft, theft under $2,500, bail jumping, resisting an officer, criminal damage. The maximum is 9 months in the county jail and a $10,000 fine under § 939.51(3)(a). Many Class A misdemeanors are the base tier of an offense that becomes a felony with one more fact, a higher dollar value, a weapon, a prior, so the charging decision and the plea negotiation both turn on that fact. A conviction is a crime on the record for 20 years, and a domestic-abuse battery ends federal firearm rights under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9).

Wis. Stat. § 939.51(3)(a)
  • Maximum jail: 9 months in the county jail, § 939.51(3)(a).
  • Maximum fine: $10,000.
  • Repeaters: a maximum of one year or less can be raised to 2 years under § 939.62(1)(a).
  • Expungement: available under § 973.015(1m)(a)1 for a person under 25, if ordered at sentencing.
  • The non-criminal alternative: a municipal ordinance violation, punished by forfeiture only, is not a crime.

Offenses charged as a Class A misdemeanor

Each of these was checked against the current statute text on docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Where a statute is graded, the cite is to the subsection that carries Class A.

What a Class A sentence looks like

A misdemeanor sentence is served in the county jail and is not split into confinement and supervision. Judges in Racine and Kenosha impose probation, fines, or short jail terms, often with Huber work-release privileges, on most misdemeanor convictions; the 9 months maximum is reached mainly on repeat offenses or where the case was amended down from a felony. Probation on a misdemeanor can itself carry jail as a condition, and a violation of probation exposes the person to the full maximum.

Expungement

Every misdemeanor is inside the 6-year ceiling in § 973.015(1m)(a)1, so a person who was under 25 when the offense was committed can have the record expunged if the judge orders it at sentencing and the sentence is completed successfully. The request has to be made before the judge pronounces sentence. Our Wisconsin expungement page covers the timing, and our guide to how long a charge stays on your record covers what expungement does and does not reach.

What changes on your record

  • A misdemeanor conviction displays on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for 20 years; a dismissal comes off after 2.
  • A misdemeanor does not end firearm rights, with one large exception: a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers the federal ban in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). See domestic violence defense.
  • Prior misdemeanors count as repeater history under § 939.62 and can raise the penalty on a later charge.
  • Immigration, licensing and employment consequences turn on the statute of conviction and the label of the offense, which is why the negotiated wording of a plea matters.

Defending a Class A charge in Racine and Kenosha

A misdemeanor can be resolved at the initial appearance, which is exactly why it should not be. Pretrial motions are due within 10 days of the initial appearance under § 971.31(5), the body-camera and squad video have to be requested before they are overwritten, and the ordinance-track question, whether the conduct also fits a Racine or Kenosha city ordinance, has to be raised with the prosecutor before the plea posture hardens. We handle misdemeanor calendars in Racine County Circuit Court at 730 Wisconsin Avenue, Kenosha County Circuit Court at 912 56th Street, and both municipal courts, from offices in Racine and Kenosha. Free case review, (262) 632-5000, answered 24/7.

Questions people actually ask

What is the maximum penalty for a Class A misdemeanor in Wisconsin?
Under Wis. Stat. § 939.51(3)(a), a Class A misdemeanor carries up to 9 months in the county jail and a fine of up to $10,000, or both. A misdemeanor sentence is served in the county jail, not prison, and is not bifurcated. If the person is a repeater under § 939.62(1)(a), a maximum term of one year or less can be increased to up to 2 years.
Is a Class A misdemeanor a crime on my record?
Yes. A Class A misdemeanor is a criminal conviction. It appears on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for 20 years, on the Department of Justice criminal history repository, and on employer and landlord background checks. Only a municipal ordinance violation or a civil forfeiture is non-criminal, which is why moving a case from circuit court to Racine or Kenosha Municipal Court is often the most valuable outcome available.
Can a Class A misdemeanor be expunged in Wisconsin?
Often, if it is raised in time. Every misdemeanor is inside the 6-year ceiling in Wis. Stat. § 973.015(1m)(a)1, so a person who was under 25 when the offense was committed can have the record expunged if the judge orders it at sentencing and the sentence is completed successfully. The request has to be made before sentence is pronounced; it usually cannot be added years later.
Can a Class A misdemeanor be reduced to a ticket?
Frequently. Prosecutors in Racine and Kenosha counties regularly amend a criminal misdemeanor to a municipal ordinance violation, which carries a forfeiture and no criminal record, or offer a deferred prosecution agreement that ends in dismissal. Whether that is available depends on the charge, any domestic-abuse modifier, the record, and the facts, which is what a free case review sorts out before the first court date.
Do I need a lawyer for a Class A misdemeanor?
Talk to one before you plead. The jail exposure on a Class A misdemeanor is 9 months, but the record exposure is 20 years, and a quick plea closes the door on suppression, an ordinance amendment, deferred prosecution and expungement. Our guide to [whether you need a lawyer for a misdemeanor](/legal-services/do-i-need-a-lawyer-for-a-misdemeanor/) walks through the decision.