Rock County

Rock 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 2020.

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

• Janesville66,030
• Beloit36,534
• Beloit town7,799
• Edgerton6,014
• Evansville5,782
• Milton5,706
• Janesville town3,678
• Fulton town3,636
• Brodhead3,197
• Milton town3,103
• Rock town2,986
• Turtle town2,768
• Harmony town2,550
• Union town2,235
• Clinton village2,041
• Orfordville village1,473
• Newark town1,377
• Lima town1,338
• Center town1,088
• Clinton town1,041
• Porter town961
• Footville village908
• Plymouth town907
• Bradford town897
• Magnolia town864
• La Prairie town839
• Johnstown town638
• Avon town634
• Spring Valley town633

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

• Janesville Police DepartmentCity police department66,624 served
• Beloit Police DepartmentCity police department36,611 served
• Rock County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police26,042 served
• Beloit Town Police DepartmentCity police department7,949 served
• Edgerton Police DepartmentCity police department6,187 served
• Evansville Police DepartmentCity police department5,845 served
• Milton Police DepartmentCity police department5,795 served
• Fulton Police DepartmentCity police department3,684 served
• Brodhead Police DepartmentCity police department3,220 served
• Milton Town Police DepartmentCity police department3,128 served
• Clinton Police DepartmentCity police department2,325 served
• Orfordville Police DepartmentCity police department1,632 served

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.