• Wisconsin law establishes rules and regulations governing arrests and convictions.Wisconsin state contour against blurred USA flag image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com
  
  Each of the 50 United States sets forth its own laws governing criminal procedure. Wisconsin's statutes carve out rules and regulations pertaining to each stage of the arrest process. Additionally, it defines conviction and allows parties involved in a case to choose among pathways to conviction in the event of guilt.
  
  

Arrest

• Section 968.07 of the statutes sets forth basic requirements for arrests. An officer must not necessarily be in possession of a warrant, which is a legal document authorizing an officer to arrest someone. The law allows arrest in the event the officer has reason to believe the existence of a Wisconsin warrant for any reason or an out-of-state warrant for a felony crime. The officer may additionally make arrests for crimes in process. During any arrest, an officer may request the assistance of any person.
  
  Sections 968.073 and 968.085 govern the periods of time immediately after arrest and pertaining to the suspect's release, respectively. The former requires that most interrogations for felony suspects be recorded (using audio and/or video), while the latter requires an officer release a suspect once he has issued the suspect a citation for the offense in question.
  
  

Pathway to Conviction

• Although section 972.02 entitles a suspect undergoing criminal proceedings to a trial by jury, it also gives her the option to decline, either "in writing or by statement in open court." In the event that a suspect waives her right to a trial by jury, the judge will convict and sentence.
  
  Additionally, the law allows for representatives of the suspect and the accuser to jointly request a jury be reduced in number from its standard 12.
  
  

Conviction and Sentencing

• Once the relevant parties have determined how conviction (in the event of guilt) shall take place, the rest of the process takes place according to Section 972.13, which governs judgment. It asserts that "a judgment of conviction shall be entered upon a verdict of guilty by the jury, a finding of guilty by the court in cases where a jury is waived, or a plea of guilty or no contest."
  
  A conviction document, it holds, "shall set forth the plea, the verdict or finding, the adjudication and the [recommended] sentence." The judge will decide the final punishment during sentencing, to which the court must proceed immediately following a conviction.