Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Yes, officers have up to six years in Wisconsin to decide whether or not they wish to charge out any sort of criminal offense, including obstructing. This six year statute of limitations can be extended even longer if you spend any of the six years out of state or otherwise unavailable for prosecution. In terms of your questioning the legality of your release on bond after your first court hearing and booking, I do not understand your question. Obviously, you preferred being released on bond rather than being held in jail after court; therefore, are you really asking me whether it was legal to release you? Most defendants are in fact released on bond for minor offenses while awaiting trial unless they have a bad prior record. Therefore, all I can tell you is that such release is quite normal and does not seem illegal. If you are asking whether or not it is legal to book you, my answer would be "yes," since it is a routine required procedure for all criminal defendants. Unfortunately, it also results in your fingerprints being made part of the permanently maintained in national FBI databases for future use in the event of any other arrests so such a booking can follow you for the rest of your life unless you are totally acquitted of the charge and jump through several additional legal hoops. Since many people use false names, obtaining biometric data such as fingerprints is the only way that law enforcement officers can keep track of who they are arresting. All this being said, any time that anyone is charged with a criminal offense, he or she should immediately retain an experienced criminal lawyer, or should try to get a public defender appointed if retaining a private lawyer is too expensive. In WI, obstructing an officer is a serious misdemeanor which frequently results in jail time, so you should certainly fight this charge if you dispute it. Any sort of lie to an officer which he or she is on duty is potentially sufficient for an obstructing conviction, but a good criminal lawyer may spot potential defenses which are not immediately apparent to a lay person. My comments in this public web forum are intended only for public educational purposes and not as legal advice for you. You therefore should retain your own attorney as soon as possible, since time limits can apply to many different types of legal matters which could severely harm your case if they expire without receiving proper attention in a timely fashion. However, you are also welcome to contact me at my office in Racine if you wish to discuss this matter further.