Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Felony charges but not arrested

Prior to a criminal defendant's case going to court, the decision whether or not to arrest the defendant is discretionary with the law enforcement agency and prosecutor. After the court appearance, the decision as to whether or not the defendant is held in custody is made by the Judge. The majority of felony defendants are not held in custody, since they are either able to post bond or convince the Judge to set a signature bond, based upon an educated guess by the Judge that the defendant can be trusted to show up for future court dates and meet other conditions such as not committing new crimes, cooperating with urinalysis to detect drug or alcohol use; and avoiding contact with the victim. The exceptions to these general rules would include extremely violent or dangerous crimes, or crimes where long imprisonment is the likely result. With those, the flight risk is deemed to be greater, as is the risk of violating bond by re-offending. Imprisonment after sentencing is an entirely different inquiry, which does not commence until after a defendant is convicted (if ever).