Sauk County

Sauk 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.

• Baraboo12,769
• Reedsburg10,168
• Prairie du Sac village4,382
• Sauk City village3,483
• Lake Delton village3,482
• Delton town2,684
• Wisconsin Dells2,547
• Spring Green town1,667
• Dellona town1,664
• Excelsior town1,650
• Baraboo town1,607
• West Baraboo village1,577
• Spring Green village1,397
• La Valle town1,367
• Reedsburg town1,259
• Washington town1,221
• Fairfield town1,164
• Sumpter town1,163
• Woodland town1,086
• Merrimac town1,075
• Prairie du Sac town992
• Greenfield town961
• Winfield town893
• Plain village780
• Troy town775
• Honey Creek town730
• North Freedom village716
• Franklin town694
• Bear Creek town631
• Ironton town623
• Freedom town617
• Westfield town601
• Merrimac village570
• La Valle village326
• Rock Springs village323
• Ironton village271
• Cazenovia village267
• Lime Ridge village263
• Loganville village252

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

• Sauk County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police32,800 served
• Baraboo Police DepartmentCity police department13,240 served
• Reedsburg Police DepartmentCity police department10,378 served
• Sauk Prairie Police DepartmentCity police department4,514 served
• Lake Delton Police DepartmentCity police department3,457 served
• Wisconsin Dells Police DepartmentCity police department3,194 served
• Spring Green Police DepartmentCity police department1,576 served
• DEVIL'S LAKE PARK POLICEOther state agency

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.