How to Search Criminal Dockets
Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, or WCCA, is the main public search for a Manitowoc County criminal court docket. Select Manitowoc County, then search by a party name or case number. The form also supports case type, status, filing date, and class-code filters. A broad name search can produce several people or several matters, so compare the case type and filing data before opening a result. Wisconsin criminal case numbers use a four-digit year, a two-letter code, and a sequence, such as 2026CF000123.
WCCA is free and shows a public case summary. It is not an online archive of complaint, motion, order, or transcript images. If no result appears, check spelling and filters, then contact the Manitowoc County Clerk of Circuit Court. The clerk offers phone, mail, fax, counter, and two courthouse CCAP-computer channels. Municipal ordinance and non-criminal traffic cases remain with each municipal clerk and may not appear in WCCA.
- Open WCCA and choose Manitowoc County.
- Enter a party name or the full criminal case number.
- Narrow the results with CF, CM, or CT case type and a filing range.
- Open the case summary and review parties, charges, events, dates, and status.
- Ask the clerk for the exact filed document or certified copy when the summary is not enough.
Manitowoc Criminal Case Codes
The two-letter code keeps very different Manitowoc County criminal dockets apart. CF identifies a felony case. CM identifies a criminal misdemeanor. CT marks criminal traffic. TR and FO generally point to traffic or forfeiture matters rather than a criminal prosecution. The code is part of the case number and is often the quickest way to test whether a search result is the right kind of file.
- CF
- Felony prosecution in Wisconsin Circuit Court.
- CM
- Criminal misdemeanor case.
- CT
- Criminal traffic prosecution.
- Disposition
- The recorded result, such as a plea, trial result, or dismissal.
A code describes the file category, not the outcome. Read the charge and event history before drawing a conclusion. Note the date you checked because a live Manitowoc County criminal court docket can change after the search.
What a Manitowoc Criminal Docket Shows
A public Manitowoc County criminal court docket brings several kinds of data into one chronological case summary. The header identifies the case, court branch, status, and filing date. Party and charge areas describe who is involved and which statutes are cited. The court-event history records settings and actions as they are entered. Financial and judgment information may also appear when public-access policy permits it.
| Case number | The year, CF, CM, or CT code, and sequence. |
|---|---|
| Charge | The alleged offense, severity, and cited statute. |
| Court events | Filed motions, hearings, adjournments, and other dated activity. |
| Hearing setting | Date, time, branch, and setting type when public. |
| Disposition | The recorded result and later sentencing or judgment events. |
The summary is a finding tool, not a substitute for the signed order or judgment. Ask the clerk for a regular or certified copy when proof of the filed record matters. A docket event label can also be terse, so the underlying document may add context that the public line does not.
Manitowoc Criminal Intake Contacts
The county Criminal Unit routes felony and misdemeanor questions. Jasmine Schwerma, chief deputy, is listed at (920) 683-4028, while Amanda Leneau is listed at (920) 683-4034. For document-copy questions, the county directory lists records clerks at (920) 683-4306 and (920) 683-4911. Branch judicial assistants are the better contact for a hearing setting or remote-access question tied to a specific branch.
The county's official Criminal Unit page also publishes intake, bail, and text-reminder information. Its current screen is shown below from that official source.
The image helps identify the right county contact, but the live page controls when schedules or staff details change.
Manitowoc Criminal Docket Stages
A Manitowoc County criminal court docket begins when the case is filed and entered in CCAP. Early events may concern an initial appearance, bond, counsel, or arraignment. Pretrial conferences and motions follow as needed. Later entries may record a plea, trial, dismissal, sentence, judgment, or post-judgment activity. Not every file uses every stage, and an adjournment can create several settings without ending the case.
Docket flow: Filing › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
A scheduled event is not proof that the event occurred. Check the later history for minutes, an order, or a changed setting. For focused help with dates, the Manitowoc County court calendar explains how branch settings and resets are verified.
Manitowoc Criminal Workload
The Wisconsin court system's 2024 county caseload report counts 1,994 Manitowoc County criminal cases opened, 1,907 disposed, and 1,821 pending at year end. Those totals include felony, misdemeanor, and criminal traffic categories. They measure files and court work, not people, guilt, or the result of any one case.
The mix explains why filters matter. A Manitowoc County criminal docket search limited to CF cases will not surface a CM file. The report also shows why a pending count is not a measure of delay: cases enter at different times and require different events.
Which Court Holds Criminal Dockets
The Manitowoc County Circuit Court holds felony, misdemeanor, and criminal traffic dockets across four numbered branches in one courthouse. The Manitowoc County Clerk of Circuit Court is the record custodian. Circuit files flow through CCAP and their public summaries appear in WCCA when access rules allow. Branch assignment affects the judge, courtroom, and setting contact, but it does not require a different public search system.
Municipal courts are separate. They hear city or village ordinance, parking, municipal traffic, and other forfeiture matters, and some may hear first-offense OWI or juvenile ordinance matters. Their clerks keep those local dockets. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II, uses the separate WSCCA appellate search. Federal criminal matters belong to the U.S. District Court and are not Manitowoc County Circuit Court cases.
Manitowoc Criminal Record Copies
When the Manitowoc County criminal court docket names a complaint, motion, order, judgment, or hearing but does not display the image, request that item from the clerk. Include the full case number, document or event name, filing or hearing date, copy type, delivery method, and a fee ceiling. Regular circuit copies cost $1.25 per page. Certification adds $5 to the copy charge under the Wisconsin circuit-court fee chart.
Requests may be made at Room 105, 1010 S. 8th Street, Manitowoc, by mail, by fax at (920) 683-2733, or after a phone call to a records clerk. Two public CCAP computers in the office allow authorized viewing and copy purchase. Registered e-filing parties can see documents in their own cases, but the public does not gain that party-level access through eFiling.
Note: Call before sending an unusual, archived, sealed, audio, or transcript request because no fixed turnaround or universal recording access is promised.
Public Access to Criminal Dockets
Wisconsin law begins with a right to inspect public records, but criminal court access is not absolute. A court order may seal a record. Statutes protect juvenile records and personal identifiers. WCCA policy also controls what the public interface displays. A missing case, party detail, or document does not by itself prove that no record exists or that a case was erased.
Key rules:
Wis. Stat. § 19.35 sets the public inspection and copying framework.
Wis. Stat. § 801.19 protects specified personal identifiers in circuit filings.
Wis. Stat. § 938.396 governs access to juvenile records.
Ask the custodian for the legal basis when access is denied and whether a redacted portion can be released. Authorized people in confidential cases may receive a temporary access code through the courthouse process. Public observation of an open remote hearing is also distinct from party participation, and access must be arranged with the assigned judicial assistant.
Manitowoc Criminal Drug Court Dockets
Manitowoc County Drug Court is a named problem-solving program alongside the ordinary criminal docket. Its public program material and March 2026 participant handbook describe a structured track, but participation does not create a new court level or a new statewide database. The underlying criminal case remains part of the circuit court record, subject to the same access limits.
Use WCCA to follow public case events and the county program source to understand program structure. Do not treat a program reference as the disposition. The later Manitowoc County criminal court docket entries, signed orders, and clerk-held case file show what the court actually recorded.