938.185 Venue.
(1) Proceedings generally. Subject to subs. (3) and (4), venue for any proceeding under ss. 938.12, 938.125, 938.13, 938.135, and 938.18 may be in any of the following:
(a) The county where the juvenile resides.
(b) The county where the juvenile is present.
(c) In the case of a violation of a state law or a county, town or municipal ordinance, the county where the violation occurred, except that in that case the court of the county where the violation occurred may, after the juvenile is adjudged delinquent, transfer the proceeding to the county where the juvenile resides for disposition, if the court of the county of residence agrees to that transfer.
(2) Juvenile subject to dispositional order. Venue for any proceeding under s. 938.357, 938.363, or 938.365 shall be in the county where the dispositional order was issued, unless prior to the proceeding the court of that county determined that proper venue for the proceeding lies in another county and transferred the case, along with all appropriate records, to that other county.
(2m) Extended out-of-home care. Venue for a proceeding under s. 938.366 (3) (am) shall be in the county where the most recent order specified in s. 938.366 (1) (a) was issued.
(3) Sex offender registry violations. Venue for a proceeding under s. 938.12 or 938.13 (12) based on an alleged violation of s. 301.45 (6) (a) or (ag) may be in the juvenile's county of residence at the time that the petition is filed. If the juvenile does not have a county of residence in this state at the time that the petition is filed, or if the juvenile's county of residence is unknown at the time that the petition is filed, venue for the proceeding may be in any of the following counties:
(a) Any county in which the juvenile has resided while subject to s. 301.45.
(b) The county in which the juvenile was adjudicated delinquent or found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect for the sex offense that requires the juvenile to register under s. 301.45.
(c) If the juvenile is required to register under s. 301.45 (1g) (dt), the county in which the juvenile was found to be a sexually violent person under ch. 980.
(d) If the juvenile is required to register only under s. 301.45 (1g) (f) or (g), any county in which the juvenile has been a student in this state or has been employed or carrying on a vocation in this state.
(4) Indian juveniles. Venue for a proceeding under s. 938.12 or 938.13 (12) based on an allegation that an Indian juvenile has committed a delinquent act may not be in the county specified in sub. (1) (a), unless that county is specified in sub. (1) (b) or (c), if all of the following circumstances apply:
(a) At the time of the alleged delinquent act the juvenile was under an order of a tribal court, other than a tribal court order relating to adoption, physical placement or visitation with the juvenile's parent, or permanent guardianship.
(b) At the time of the alleged delinquent act the juvenile was physically outside the boundaries of the reservation of the Indian tribe of the tribal court and any off-reservation trust land of either that Indian tribe or a member of that Indian tribe as a direct consequence of a tribal court order under par. (a), including a tribal court order placing the juvenile in the home of a relative of the juvenile who on or after the date of the tribal court order resides physically outside the boundaries of a reservation and off-reservation trust land.
(c) A petition relating to the delinquent act has been filed in a tribal court that has jurisdiction over the juvenile.
History: 1995 a. 77, 352, 440; 1999 a. 89; 2003 a. 284; 2005 a. 344; 2009 a. 94; 2015 a. 55, 373.
NOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 284 contains explanatory notes.
Venue becomes an issue only in the event that it is contested. It is not an element of the crime charged. The county where a juvenile “resides" is the county of domicile. The county where a juvenile “is present" is the county where the child is present at the time a petition is filed. State v. Corey J.G. 215 Wis. 2d 395, 572 N.W.2d 845 (1998), 96-3148.