Juvenile Court

Court Dates

Juvenile court typically takes place one Thursday evening each month. A court notice will be sent to the juvenile and parent/guardian with the scheduled date/time. Juvenile court requires a parent/guardian to be present at all court appearances.

Court Process

Upon arrival the defendant will be asked to check in with our court worker. Cases will be called in the order of arrival, with the possibility of exceptions as deemed appropriate by the court. Court is closed to the public- only the defendant, their parent/guardian, and others authorized by the judge may attend. For initial appearances, after the defendant enters a plea of No Contest or Guilty, they will then discuss the case with the judge. There are several sentence options the judge may impose if the defendant is found guilty.  These options may include enrolling in the First Offenders Program, Drug Monitoring Program, completing community service, paying a fine/restitution, and/or driver's license suspension.

Community Service

If the judge issues community service at part of the sentence, there are several community opportunities available. The defendant can volunteer at any non-profit organization including schools, churches, and food pantries. The defendant cannot get paid for the volunteer hours that they complete.

A great resource for finding volunteer opportunities is United Way of Dane County

Failure to Appear

If a defendant fails to appear for a court hearing and they have not contacted the court, the defendant will be found guilty by default. A default judgement will be sent to the defendant by mail.