The system your child is in is different, and the clock is faster
Juvenile cases in Wisconsin are governed by the Juvenile Justice Code, ch. 938, not the adult criminal code, and the differences matter from the first hour. A child under 17 who is taken into custody and held must have a detention hearing within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, under § 938.21. The case then goes to a county intake worker, not a prosecutor, and the intake decision under § 938.24, to close the case, offer a deferred prosecution agreement under § 938.245, or refer it for a delinquency petition, is made before most families have called a lawyer.
That is the window in which representation changes outcomes. We represent children and their parents in Racine County and Kenosha County juvenile court from our offices at 840 Lake Avenue in Racine and 7001 30th Avenue in Kenosha.
- Who is a juvenile: § 938.02. A person under 17; Wisconsin 17-year-olds are charged as adults.
- Delinquency jurisdiction: § 938.12, children 10 and older.
- Detention hearing: § 938.21, within 24 hours excluding weekends and holidays.
- Intake and deferred prosecution: § 938.243 (rights at intake), § 938.24 (intake decision), § 938.245 (deferred prosecution agreement).
- Waiver to adult court: § 938.18; original adult jurisdiction for the most serious offenses under § 938.183.
- Fact-finding (trial to the court): § 938.31.
- Dispositions: § 938.34 and § 938.355.
- Confidentiality of records: § 938.396.
Seventeen means adult
Parents are regularly surprised to learn that a 17-year-old in Wisconsin is charged in adult circuit court, faces adult penalties, and gets a public adult record. A 17-year-old’s case is handled like any adult case on this site: see misdemeanor vs. felony in Wisconsin and what happens at a first court appearance. Expungement under § 973.015 is available for many offenses committed before age 25, and the request must be made at sentencing, which is a reason a 17-year-old’s “small” case deserves a lawyer.
Waiver: the hearing that decides which system your child is in
For a child 15 or older (14 for certain serious offenses), the State can petition under § 938.18 to waive the child into adult court. The court considers the child’s history and personality, the seriousness and type of offense, whether it was violent or premeditated, and whether the juvenile system’s services are adequate, and the State must prove by clear and convincing evidence that keeping the case in juvenile court would be contrary to the best interests of the child or of the public. Winning keeps the case confidential and rehabilitation-focused; losing produces adult exposure and a permanent public record. We treat a waiver hearing as the trial it effectively is: school records, treatment history, family support and expert evaluations are assembled before the hearing, not after.
What a juvenile case looks like in Racine and Kenosha
- Custody and detention. Racine County juvenile matters are heard at the Racine County Courthouse, 730 Wisconsin Avenue; Kenosha County’s at the Kenosha County Courthouse, 912 56th Street. A child held in secure detention gets a § 938.21 hearing within 24 hours.
- Intake. The county intake worker interviews the child and family. The child has the right to remain silent and to counsel under § 938.243, and a statement given at intake can be used later. We attend.
- Petition or diversion. The case is closed, diverted to a deferred prosecution agreement, or referred to the district attorney for a delinquency petition.
- Plea hearing and fact-finding. The child admits or denies the petition; a denial leads to a fact-finding hearing to the court under § 938.31, with the State bearing the burden beyond a reasonable doubt. Suppression motions apply.
- Disposition. Under § 938.34, from supervision at home and community service through placement, and in the most serious cases correctional placement. A consent decree under § 938.32 ends the case without an adjudication if conditions are met.
The consequences parents do not see coming
- School. Districts receive notice of certain offenses and may suspend or expel. We coordinate the school process with the court case.
- Firearms. A juvenile adjudication for what would be a felony affects adult firearm eligibility.
- Sex-offender registration. Certain adjudications carry registration under § 938.34(15m) and § 301.45; the court has discretion in some cases, and that discretion is argued for.
- Immigration. A juvenile adjudication is not a conviction for most immigration purposes, but the underlying conduct can still matter. Non-citizen families should read criminal convictions and immigration consequences.
- The family. Parents can be ordered to participate in counseling and to pay costs. The case is the child’s, but the disposition reaches the household.
Call before the intake interview
The most important conversation in a juvenile case usually happens in the first week, at a table with an intake worker, and it happens whether or not the family has a lawyer. Call (262) 632-5000, answered 24 hours a day in English and Spanish; attorney Juan S. Ramirez is bilingual. The case review is free and the first advice is the same in every case: your child should not give a statement before you have talked to us.
