Dunn County

Dunn County follows Wisconsin law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

For most misdemeanors, a police officer or the jail can take cash bail under the statewide misdemeanor bail schedule. For felonies, a circuit court commissioner or circuit judge sets bail at the initial appearance. Wisconsin bars paid bail bondsmen, so sureties must be unpaid people.

Wis. Stat. 969.07Wis. Stat. 969.065Wis. Stat. 969.12Wis. Stat. 757.69(1)(b)Wis. Stat. 968.075(2m), (5)

Time to see a judge

A person who is arrested must be taken before a judge within a reasonable time in the county where the offense is charged. Wisconsin law sets no number of hours.

Wis. Stat. 970.01(1)

Money bail

Wisconsin courts may set cash bail. A surety must be a state resident and an unpaid natural person, so commercial bail bonds are not allowed.

Wis. Stat. 969.12

Courts

The circuit court in each county hears every felony and misdemeanor. Many cities, towns, and villages have a municipal court, but it hears only local ordinance violations punished by fines, not crimes.

Wis. Const. art. VII, secs. 6-7Wis. Stat. 755.045

Judges and magistrates

Voters elect circuit judges to six-year terms on a ballot with no party label. The chief judge of each judicial district appoints circuit court commissioners, who can hold initial appearances and set bail and must have been licensed lawyers for three years. Municipal judges are elected to terms of up to four years.

Wis. Const. art. VII, sec. 7Wis. Stat. 5.60(1)Wis. Stat. 757.68Wis. Stat. 757.69SCR ch. 75Wis. Stat. 755.01-.02

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Municipal courts are left out of limited_courts because they hear only ordinance forfeiture cases. wispd.org returned errors, so the defense section rests on statute. Whether municipal judges must be lawyers was not checked; it doesn't affect criminal cases.

Pretrial practice

Advancing Pretrial lists it as a Public Safety Assessment site since 2023.

Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research, PSA sites list (page modified 2026-06-03)

• Menomonie16,539
• Menomonie town3,422
• Tainter town2,648
• Red Cedar town2,042
• Elk Mound town1,825
• Spring Brook town1,760
• Dunn town1,624
• Colfax village1,370
• Colfax town1,238
• Elk Mound village1,096
• Boyceville village1,083
• Rock Creek town1,012
• Stanton town865
• Sherman town858
• Eau Galle town785
• Lucas town693
• Sand Creek town651
• Hay River town642
• New Haven town634
• Tiffany town547
• Weston town538
• Wilson town536
• Knapp village532
• Otter Creek town522
• Sheridan town450
• Grant town394
• Peru town321
• Wheeler village316
• Ridgeland village313
• Downing village271

Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Dunn County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.

• Dunn County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police26,167 served
• Menomonie Police DepartmentCity police department16,685 served
• Colfax Police DepartmentCity police department1,210 served
• Elk Mound Police DepartmentCity police department1,123 served
• Boyceville Police DepartmentCity police department1,093 served
• University of Wisconsin: StoutCollege or university police

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.