Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Yes, the police would usually not "hold" you unless they were charging you with something, so you were probably "charged," which is a term which has little or no legal meaning. Instead, only convictions are legally relevant for most purposes, and a mere charge does not equal a conviction. Attempting to respond to your specific question, it is rare but not impossible that the court system was never involved and that your case handled via administrative means other than formal charging (for example, via handling in a diversion program where you agree to go into treatment or otherwise address your alleged problem on your own; or, by the authorities deciding in advance or going to court that you were cleared and not guilty based upon newly discovered evidence). Odds are, however, that you were charged, even if the charges may have later been dismissed, reduced to a non-criminal ordinance, etc.) Therefore, in order to be honest, you would probably need to answer yes to the question of whether or not you were ever "charged" with a crime. You lawyer could easily answer this question for you and any experienced criminal lawyer could also quickly check the court's database in order to determine whether or not your record reflects that you were charged via the court system. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and are not legal advice specifically tailored to you and your case. Instead, you should retain a lawyer in order to meet your legal needs, since I will be taking no action on your case. You are welcome to contact my Racine, WI office at 262-633-3090 or email me at [email protected] for further information if you wish.