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Reference Guide

Class I Felony in Wisconsin: Penalties, Examples, Defense

A Wisconsin Class I felony carries 3 years 6 months and up to $10,000, § 939.50(3)(i). Verified examples, expungement, Racine and Kenosha defense.

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What a Class I felony means in Wisconsin

Class I is the lowest felony class and the one most often amended to a misdemeanor in Racine and Kenosha. The maximum is 3 years 6 months and $10,000, split under § 973.01 into up to 1 year 6 months of initial confinement and 2 years of extended supervision. Theft and retail theft just over the felony line, a second marijuana possession, stalking, and small-weight possession with intent all land here. A Class I conviction is still a felony: firearm rights end under § 941.29, and the case stays on the public court website for 50 years. It is also inside the expungement ceiling of § 973.015 for a person under 25 with no prior felony.

Wis. Stat. § 939.50(3)(i) and § 973.01
  • Maximum imprisonment: 3 years 6 months, § 939.50(3)(i).
  • Maximum fine: $10,000.
  • Bifurcated sentence: up to 1 year 6 months of initial confinement and up to 2 years of extended supervision, § 973.01(2)(b) and (d); the supervision term is at least 25 percent of the confinement term.
  • Expungement: available under § 973.015(1m)(a)1 for a person under 25 with no prior felony, if ordered at sentencing.
  • Repeaters: prior convictions can increase the maximum under § 939.62.

Offenses charged as a Class I felony

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 specific subsection that carries Class I.

What a Class I sentence looks like

Under § 973.01(2)(b) and (d) that sentence is bifurcated: up to 1 year 6 months of initial confinement in prison followed by up to 2 years of extended supervision, and the supervision term must be at least a quarter of the confinement term. Judges in Racine and Kenosha impose probation on a large share of Class I convictions, and where prison is imposed the confinement term is usually well under the maximum. The maximum is what the statute allows, not what the judge does; the presentence investigation, the record, the victim’s position and the defense’s sentencing memorandum decide where inside the range the case lands.

Expungement

A Class I felony is inside the expungement ceiling. § 973.015(1m)(a)1 allows the court to order expungement at sentencing when the person was under 25 at the time of the offense and the maximum imprisonment is 6 years or less, which a Class I maximum of 3 years 6 months is. The exclusions in § 973.015(1m)(a)3 remove anyone with a prior felony conviction and any violent offense as defined in § 301.048(2)(bm). Expungement has to be requested before the judge pronounces sentence; a petition years later almost never works. Our Wisconsin expungement page covers the process.

What changes on your record

  • A felony conviction ends firearm rights for life under § 941.29 and federal law.
  • The case displays on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access for 50 years after a felony conviction, against 20 for a misdemeanor and 2 for a dismissal. See how long a charge stays on your record.
  • A felon may not vote until the whole sentence, including extended supervision, is complete.
  • Immigration, professional-licence, housing and employment consequences turn on the statute of conviction, and a felony closes doors a misdemeanor leaves open. Non-citizens should read criminal convictions and immigration consequences before any plea.

Defending a Class I charge in Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties

A felony charge gets a preliminary hearing under § 970.03 within 10 days of the initial appearance if you are in custody on more than $500 bail, 20 days otherwise, and that hearing is the first test of the State’s evidence. Pretrial motions to suppress a stop, a search or a statement are due within 10 days of arraignment under § 971.31(5). Because Class I sits at the misdemeanor line, the amendment to a misdemeanor, a deferred prosecution agreement, or an expungement order at sentencing are all on the table, and the defense is built so that whichever of them is realistic is preserved. We defend these cases in Racine County Circuit Court at 730 Wisconsin Avenue, Kenosha County Circuit Court at 912 56th Street and the Walworth County Judicial Center at 1800 County Road NN in Elkhorn, from offices in Racine and Kenosha. Free case review, (262) 632-5000, answered 24/7.

Where a Class I case is decided

Class I cases are the ones most often resolved short of a felony conviction. Theft and retail theft are value cases: the State has to prove value over the line, and receipts, store pricing and depreciation can bring the amount under $2,500 (for retail theft, under $500) and the charge into misdemeanor range. Possession of heroin or another Schedule I or II narcotic is a Class I felony from the first offense, so the search that found it is usually the first thing litigated. Stalking under § 940.32(2) requires a course of conduct and proof that it would cause a reasonable person serious emotional distress or fear. See theft charges, retail theft, heroin defense, prescription drug charges and stalking.

Questions people actually ask

What is the maximum penalty for a Class I felony in Wisconsin?
Under Wis. Stat. § 939.50(3)(i), a Class I felony carries 3 years 6 months and a fine of up to $10,000. Under § 973.01(2)(b) and (d) that sentence is bifurcated: up to 1 year 6 months of initial confinement in prison followed by up to 2 years of extended supervision, and the supervision term must be at least a quarter of the confinement term. The maximum is rarely the sentence, but it is the number the judge measures everything against, and a repeater enhancer under § 939.62 can raise it.
How much of a Class I felony sentence is actually served in prison?
Up to 1 year 6 months. Wisconsin abolished parole for offenses after 1999 and replaced it with the bifurcated sentence in § 973.01: a term of initial confinement that is served day for day in prison, followed by extended supervision in the community. For a Class I felony the confinement portion cannot exceed 1 year 6 months and the supervision portion cannot exceed 2 years. A violation of supervision can return the person to prison for the time remaining on the whole sentence.
Can a Class I felony be expunged in Wisconsin?
Yes, sometimes. A Class I felony carries a maximum of 3 years 6 months, which is inside the 6-year ceiling in Wis. Stat. § 973.015(1m)(a)1. The person must have been under 25 when the offense was committed, the judge must order expungement at sentencing, and the sentence must be completed successfully. § 973.015(1m)(a)3 then bars expungement of a Class I felony if the person has any prior felony conviction in their lifetime, or if the offense is a violent offense as defined in § 301.048(2)(bm), or is a violation of § 948.23(1)(a). If expungement is not raised before sentencing it usually cannot be added later.
Can a Class I felony be reduced to a lesser charge?
Often. Class I is one class up from the misdemeanor line, and prosecutors in Racine and Kenosha counties amend Class I felonies to misdemeanors as part of a resolution when the facts are close to the line, the record is clean, or the evidence has a problem. Many Class I statutes are graded by dollar value or weight, so the amendment is sometimes just a matter of what the State can prove.
Is probation possible on a Class I felony?
Yes, and it is common. Judges in Racine and Kenosha impose probation on a large share of Class I felony convictions, often with conditions such as jail time as a condition of probation, treatment, and no-contact orders. Whether probation is realistic depends on the offense, the record, and the presentence report, and the defense builds toward it from the first appearance.