Fax: (262) 569-0771

The Lake Country Municipal Court serves the City of Oconomowoc , Towns of Delafield, Lisbon , Merton, Oconomowoc and Summit , and the Villages of Chenequa, Dousman, Hartland, Lac La Belle, Merton, Nashotah, Oconomowoc Lake and Sussex and the Town of Ixonia in Jefferson County and the Town of Erin in Washington County .

MISSION

The mission of the Lake Country Municipal Court is to impartially adjudicate ordinance violation cases such that legal rights of individuals are safeguarded and public interest is protected.

DEFINITIONS & PROCEDURE

A. Citation. This document is issued by a police officer charging you with violating a local ordinance. It contains your personal information, a description of the charge, court date and the deposit permitted or reference that you “must appear.” Upon receiving a citation, you become involved in a legal proceeding. It is essential that you not ignore this citation. Please make arrangements to appear on the court date noted on the citation, enter a written not guilty plea before the court date or pay the forfeiture on, or before the court date. Your non-appearance and resulting default judgment can result in certain consequences.

B. Point System. Each traffic violation may be assigned points by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Holders of probationary licenses may be subject to additional points. If you accumulate more than 12 points in any 12 month period, your driver’s license will be suspended by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

C. Initial Appearance. The appearance date indicated on your citation is referred to as “initial appearance.” The judge calls cases alphabetically by municipality. Please come forward when your name is called. You will be given the opportunity to ask the judge any questions you may have about the case against you. Otherwise, the purpose of your appearance is to enter a plea.

D. Pleas. At the initial appearance, you have the choice of entering one of three pleas, as follows:

(1) Guilty. If you plead guilty, you are admitting the charge against you.

(2) No contest. This is similar to a plea of guilty and the Court will treat it the same as a guilty plea. The difference is that you are not admitting civil liability for use in other litigations such as an automobile accident where someone else was injured or their property was damaged.

(3) Not guilty. If you enter this plea, you feel you have not violated the law as charged in the citation. If you are in doubt about the charge against you, enter this plea.

If you enter either a guilty or no contest plea, you will be allowed to explain what happened and why you should be given consideration either as to the points or forfeiture involved. You may be given consideration on either points or forfeiture. You will generally not be given consideration if the officer already gave you consideration when writing the ticket, such as lowering the speed.

If you plead not guilty, the matter will be set for pre-trial. If you fail to appear in person on the court date or enter a not guilty plea before the court date (or pay the forfeiture amount before the court date), default judgment may be entered against you with sanctions for non-payment to follow.

E. Pre-trial Conference. At pre-trial, you will sit one-on-one with the municipal prosecutor. At this time, you and the prosecutor will discuss the case and consider a negotiated settlement. If you cannot work out a negotiated settlement that is acceptable to both you and the prosecutor, then the matter will be set for trial. Please keep in mind that the prosecutor does not represent you.

F. Trials. The prosecution has what is called the burden of proof at trial. They must prove by clear, satisfactory and convincing evidence that you did in fact commit the offense as stated in the citation. You do not have to prove yourself innocent. Since the prosecution has the burden of proof, they will go first. They will put on their witnesses, generally the police officer who wrote the citation, and any other citizen witnesses who may have been involved in the issuance of the citation. The prosecutor will question these witnesses, and when done, you will have the opportunity to question these witnesses as well.

Once the prosecution is finished, you will present your case by either questioning your witnesses or telling the Court what you believed happened. The prosecutor will then be given the opportunity to cross examine you and any of your witnesses.

At the conclusion of all testimony, and upon receiving any exhibits in connection with your case, the Judge will make a decision, either dismissing the charge against you or finding you guilty. If you are found guilty, the Court will impose a forfeiture and statutory costs, if any, as appropriate. There are no Court costs imposed simply because you asserted your right to trial.

G. Appeals. If the judge’s decision at trial is a conviction, you may appeal this decision to the Waukesha County Circuit Court. The appeal must be in writing within 20 days after the Court date or you lose your right to appeal. There is a fee involved. You will be given a right to appeal sheet if, upon the conclusion of trial, there is a finding of guilt.

H. Forfeiture. This is the amount you are required to pay upon conviction. You will be given time to pay if you need it, although the preference is to pay it immediately on the day of your Court appearance. Partial payments are accepted. If you do not pay by the due date, you must return to Court and request an extension. If you do not pay or are not granted an extension, an alternative sentence of license suspension or time in jail will be automatically imposed without further notice. In order to get your license back or remove yourself from jail, you must pay the amount of the forfeiture plus any applicable costs, including license reinstatement costs to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

I. Juveniles. This Court handles juvenile cases for those individuals between the ages of 12 and 17. 17 and older are considered adults under Wisconsin law. Juveniles will be called at the end of the calendar, alphabetically by their first name and first initial of their last name. They must step forward with their parent or guardian and the initial appearance or other hearing will be held in private.

THIS IS A COURT OF LAW. PLEASE SHOW COMMON COURTESY. IT IS THE GOAL OF THE COURT AND ITS PERSONNEL TO TREAT YOU WITH COURTESY AND RESPECT. IN RETURN, WE ASK THE SAME FROM YOU. IF THERE IS ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, ASK FOR AN EXPLANATION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE JUDGE, IT IS PROPER TO DO SO ONLY IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PROSECUTOR.

3/20/08