Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, has about 925,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, and the file of each case, kept by the Clerk of Circuit Court, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Milwaukee County public records, Milwaukee County arrest records, Milwaukee County warrants, Milwaukee County inmate search, Milwaukee County criminal records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Milwaukee County
In Milwaukee County, the Milwaukee County Circuit Court hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case.
A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets written under its ordinances.
Divorces go to the Circuit Court, and the file stays with the Clerk of Circuit Court.
The Clerk of Circuit Court keeps the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Wisconsin Public Records Law.
Looking Up a Case from Milwaukee County
For Milwaukee County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at wicourts.gov/casesearch.htm (page title: Wisconsin Court System | Case search), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access is the free statewide case search of every circuit court.
What Reaches the Court from Milwaukee County
Together, the 20 agencies in Milwaukee County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 28,168 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at county.milwaukee.gov/EN/District-Attorney (page title: Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern), phone (414) 278-4646, 821 W. State St., Suite 405 Milwaukee, WI 53233-1485, a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 403), so open it in a browser.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the Wisconsin Division of Motor Vehicles, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Milwaukee County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Milwaukee County criminal records, Milwaukee County divorce records, Milwaukee County traffic tickets, Milwaukee County DUI and Milwaukee County property records.
Cities in Milwaukee County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court; tickets under a city's own ordinances go to its municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Milwaukee County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own court records guide opens there:
- Wauwatosa (48,794)
- Greenfield (37,232)
- Franklin (36,591)
- South Milwaukee (20,233)
- Cudahy (17,704)
- Whitefish Bay (14,532)
- Glendale (14,381)
- Brown Deer (12,527)
- Hales Corners (7,766)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Milwaukee County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at wicourts.gov/casesearch.htm. Statewide, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access is the free statewide case search of every circuit court.
Which court hears felonies in Milwaukee County?
The Milwaukee County Circuit Court, which hears every civil, criminal, family, probate and juvenile case.
Who keeps the court records in Milwaukee County?
The Clerk of Circuit Court. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Wisconsin?
Yes: Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, the free statewide case search of every circuit court.
Is this the official Milwaukee County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.