Milwaukee County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Milwaukee County has a population of over 933,000 people. It is the most populous county in Wisconsin and is named after the Milwaukee River. It was created in 1834 as part of the Michigan Territory and organized in 1835. Its county seat is the City of Milwaukee and is home to two major-league professional sports teams, the Milwaukee Bucks and Milwaukee Brewers, and the world's largest music festival, Summerfest. The circuit courts and the municipal courts are functional in the court system, handling various cases within their jurisdiction.

There are 17 municipal courts in Milwaukee County and are located within the city, village, or town that they are named after. A few of them are the City of Greenfield Municipal Court, the City of Milwaukee Municipal Court, and the City of South Milwaukee Municipal Court. The municipal courts deal with cases involving code ordinance violations and traffic violations occurring within each locality. They handle drugged driving, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, truancy, underage drinking (juvenile matter), building code violation, trespass, health code violation, and curfew violation cases. Money forfeiture is usually imposed as a penalty, but if a defendant fails to pay a fine, the court then assumes the authority to impose a jail sentence. There are no jury trials and cases are decided by municipal judges. The Circuit Courts are located in Milwaukee and one of the Circuit Courts is a Children's Court. The Circuit Court is a jury trial court and houses several divisions. It hears felonies, misdemeanors, large claims, small claims, eviction, probate, and juvenile cases involving persons younger than 18 in child neglect, abuse, and guardianship matters. Also, cases from municipal courts are appealed to the circuit courts.

The caseload summarization obtained from the fiscal year 2023 in Milwaukee County shows that 11,050 crimes were filed and a grand total of 103,308 cases were disposed of that year. However, a five-year comparison (2017-2021) illustrates that crime rates were lower in 2020, which had 57,147 crimes recorded. The number of cases that were disposed of in 2020 and 2021, especially in 2020 surpassed the other years, The Clerk of the Circuit Court/Register in Probate maintains court records through the Consolidated Courts Automation Programs and processes approximately 150,000 case files yearly. You can access court records on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA) website. On the other hand, juvenile, mental health, adoption, and guardianship cases are not available to the public. In addition, certain information in open records such as financial disclosure statements in divorce proceedings are also confidential.

Milwaukee County, which is one of Wisconsin's 72 counties in the first judicial district, boasts a well-organized court system. The circuit court and municipal court staff play a crucial role in managing court activities and caseloads. Jury selections, conducting jury trials, maintaining court records, and providing the public with unrestricted access to court records collectively boast a robust judicature and proffer solutions to the legal needs of Milwaukeeans.