Dunn County Criminal Court Cases
The Dunn County Clerk of Circuit Court keeps the official files for felony, misdemeanor, criminal traffic, and related state cases. Wisconsin Circuit Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction. Dunn County has three branches, but they share one clerk's office at the Dunn County Judicial Center. A case number identifies the year, case type, and sequence. The code CF denotes a criminal felony matter, CM denotes a criminal misdemeanor, and CT denotes criminal traffic. TR normally marks a traffic forfeiture, which is not the same as a criminal conviction.
The Dunn County criminal court file begins when the prosecutor files a complaint or other charging paper. It can then gain motions, hearing entries, pleas, orders, a judgment, and sentence information. A municipal citation stays outside this circuit criminal track unless it becomes a state charge or reaches circuit court on appeal. That distinction matters because a name search can return several kinds of public cases. Readers should confirm both the case type and the outcome of each count.
The official clerk page shows the Dunn County records office and its court services.
That office, not the search display, controls certified copies and the official Dunn County court file.
Three Dunn County Court Branches
Dunn County Branch 1 is assigned to Judge James Peterson, Branch 2 to Judge Christina Mayer, and Branch 3 to Judge Luke Wagner. Clerk Katie Schalley supports the shared court record system. The branch shown in WCCA identifies where the matter is assigned, while the “responsible official” field names the judicial officer tied to an event or case. It does not create three separate court databases. Copies still route through the Dunn County Clerk of Circuit Court.
The clerk is at 615 Stokke Parkway, Suite 1500, Menomonie, WI 54751-7203. The phone is 715-232-2611 and the fax is 715-232-6888. General hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Sheriff, jail, District Attorney, and Menomonie Police also work at the Stokke Parkway campus, but each remains a separate custodian. A request for a Dunn County complaint, judgment, or docket copy goes to the clerk, not to a general county desk.
The Wisconsin court directory lists circuit court contacts by county.
The directory is a useful fallback when a Dunn County branch or clerk contact must be confirmed.
Searching Dunn County Case Records
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, often called WCCA or CCAP, is the free statewide starting point for a Dunn County criminal case search. It works best when the searcher has a full name, an approximate filing period, or a case number. Common names require more care. Compare a middle name, birth date when displayed, county, case type, and linked case facts before treating a result as the right person.
- Accept the WCCA terms and open the person search or the direct case-number search.
- Enter the last name, add the first and middle names, and choose Dunn County.
- Narrow the results with birth date, case type, or filing dates when those facts are known.
- Open the Dunn County case and read the summary, charges, court record, judgments, and financial panels.
- Call the clerk for a document, certified copy, archived item, or entry that is not available online.
The WCCA search fields shown below help cut false matches. A field marked optional can still be vital when several people share a name.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last name | Text | Yes for person search | Use the surname shown in court records |
| First or middle name | Text | No | Both can reduce false matches |
| Birth date | Date | No | Use only when known |
| County | Dropdown | No | Select Dunn for local cases |
| Case type | Filter | No | CR, CM, CT, and other public types |
| Filing date range | Date fields | No | Limits broad result sets |
| Case number | Separate tab | No | Direct route when the full number is known |
The WCCA interface displays the actual person and case search controls.
The county filter and case-type fields make a broad Wisconsin name search more useful for Dunn County records.
WCCA Is Not the Official File
WCCA is an electronic public-access view. The clerk's file remains the official Dunn County court record. A docket may name a complaint, motion, order, judgment, or transcript without offering a downloadable copy. The event text may also be a short clerk entry rather than the full document. When the document itself matters, note the case number, document title, and filing date, then ask the Dunn County clerk whether a releasable copy is available.
Wisconsin Courts explains the public case search and its limits.
The state guidance reinforces why an online result should be checked against the originating Dunn County office.
Older material may require an archive or paper-file check. Confidential and sealed data will not appear merely because a person asks at the counter. The Dunn County clerk page does not publish a current criminal copy, certification, or archive-search fee table. Ask for the current charge and an estimate rather than assuming a price. Mail, fax, in-person delivery, and Wisconsin eFiling are available for allowed filings, but a filing channel is not always the same as a copy-request channel.
Note: A missing WCCA document can still exist in the Dunn County official file, while a confidential document may remain unavailable.
Inside a Dunn County Case File
Dunn County criminal case records organize information by case and count. The case summary gives the county, case number, filing date, status, branch, and responsible official. The parties panel may identify the State of Wisconsin, the defendant, prosecutor, and defense counsel, while personal details are limited. The charges panel is the key place to separate what was alleged from how each count ended.
| Case number and court | Year, criminal case code, sequence, Dunn County branch, and assigned official |
|---|---|
| Charging document | Complaint or information that states the filed allegations |
| Charges | Count, statute, description, severity, offense date, plea, and disposition |
| Court record | Dated hearings, filings, orders, officials, locations, and docket remarks |
| Judgment | Outcome entered by the court, including conviction, dismissal, or acquittal |
| Sentence and financial entries | Public sentence terms, assessments, payments, and balance information where shown |
A complaint alleges facts; it does not establish guilt. The plea field records how a defendant answered a count. The disposition records how that count ended. One Dunn County case can contain a conviction on one count and dismissal on another. Reading only the caption or first charge can therefore give the wrong result.
Reading Dunn County Case Outcomes
Several terms recur in Dunn County criminal dockets. An initial appearance addresses identity, allegations, counsel, and release conditions. An arraignment is the stage when charges are formally addressed and a plea is entered. A disposition is the result for one charge, such as conviction, dismissal, or acquittal. A judgment of conviction is the court's formal conviction and sentence record. These labels mark different steps, not interchangeable outcomes.
- CF
- A criminal felony case type in Wisconsin Circuit Court.
- CM
- A criminal misdemeanor case type.
- CT
- A criminal traffic case type.
- TR
- A traffic forfeiture matter, not by itself a circuit criminal conviction.
- Disposition
- The result entered for a specific charge.
The financial panel needs equal care. An assessment and a current balance are not the same fact. A zero balance speaks to what the public financial view reports, not whether a conviction was erased. Likewise, a dismissed count remains a dismissal unless the record later receives a lawful restriction. Dunn County case readers should use the judgment and disposition fields for the legal outcome.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A Dunn County prosecution can start with an arrest or summons, but the court case starts with filed charges. Felony matters may include a preliminary hearing before an information and arraignment. Motions, plea talks, or trial preparation follow. The matter can end through dismissal, plea, acquittal, or guilty verdict, followed by judgment and sentencing when there is a conviction. An appeal or post-judgment motion can add later entries.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
The Dunn County District Attorney makes the charging choice. The court decides legal issues and enters the judgment. Jail intake charges can differ from the filed complaint, and the filed counts can change again before disposition. For the earlier agency and booking record, the separate Dunn County arrest lookup explains that parallel trail.
The Dunn County District Attorney page describes the prosecuting office.
The prosecutor's office and clerk sit at the same campus, yet their roles in a Dunn County case remain distinct.
When Dunn Court Documents Are Missing
Start with the docket entry. Record the Dunn County case number, filing date, document name, and event date. Then call the clerk at 715-232-2611. Ask whether the item is public, whether it can be copied, and whether certification is needed. The Dunn County clerk may need to locate a paper or archived record. No posted criminal-copy fee schedule was found, so request the current cost before ordering.
The county criminal cases page lists court instructions and filing routes.
Those Dunn County instructions also provide the clerk contact used for court case and warrant questions.
A search can fail for other reasons. The name may differ, the case may be too new to appear, the record may be confidential, or the event may be municipal rather than criminal circuit court. A police report can exist without a filed case. Pre-charge diversion can also resolve a matter before a CR or CM file opens. None of those possibilities supports guessing. Move to the correct Dunn County custodian and ask a narrow question.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Wisconsin favors public access to government records, and Wis. Stat. § 19.31 states that policy. Court electronic access also operates under Wisconsin court rules, while the Dunn County clerk retains the official file. Public access does not extend to every item. Juvenile files, sealed records, protected victim data, health information, Social Security numbers, and protected addresses can be withheld or redacted.
Under Wis. Stat. § 19.35, a public-record request generally needs a reasonable description, not magic words or a stated purpose. Court records also have their own access framework. A written denial should give reasons and review information. A missing Dunn County case may reflect a lawful restriction, a search mismatch, or a record held by another office. It does not prove that no event occurred.
Note: Confirm a Dunn County charge count by count because one case can contain several pleas, dismissals, and judgments.
Dunn County Clerk Request Routes
The Clerk of Circuit Court is the best Dunn County fallback for official case copies, certification, archived files, and docket items not linked in WCCA. Contact the clerk before a visit when the record is old or when certification is required. Give the case number when possible. If not, supply the party name and approximate filing period. A focused request saves the clerk from having to guess which Dunn County file or document is wanted.
Dunn County Clerk of Circuit Court
615 Stokke Parkway, Suite 1500
Menomonie, WI 54751-7203
715-232-2611
Fax: 715-232-6888
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Dunn County accepts allowed court submissions in person, by mail, fax, or Wisconsin eFiling. Ask the clerk which route fits a copy request, since a filing method may not be the delivery method for records. If WCCA shows a public event but no document, identify that event exactly. If it shows no case at all, verify the spelling and case type before contacting the office.
Check the official Dunn County clerk page again before relying on hours or contact details for a records visit.