Searching the Hudson Court Docket
Start with the citation itself. City ordinance cases and most city traffic tickets belong to Hudson Municipal Court. Felonies, misdemeanors, and civil suits go to St. Croix County Circuit Court instead. Family matters and probate land there too. The official Hudson Municipal Court page lists the city clerk, the judge, hours, and procedure links. WCCA covers public circuit case summaries, though not the municipal court's full local file.
- Identify the issuing agency and court printed on the notice.
- Use the citation number, court date, amount, and mandatory-appearance marker.
- Contact Hudson Municipal Court for a city file or uncertain setting.
- Use AllPaid only for an eligible Hudson payment, with location code 4073.
- Search WCCA under St. Croix County only when a circuit case exists.
Nothing matching online? Call the clerk who holds the file. A city citation can sit outside WCCA entirely, and WCCA also hides confidential cases and document images. An empty result never means the case was dismissed.
Hudson Municipal Court at City Hall
Hudson Municipal Court sits inside Hudson City Hall. The address is 505 Third Street, Hudson, Wisconsin 54016-1694. The court's main line is 715-386-4765. Delaina Bacon-Gaboury serves as municipal court clerk at 715-716-5737, and Kyle Schaffer is the judge. Hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
This court alone handles City of Hudson ordinance violations that carry forfeiture penalties. The city treats it as an independent judicial branch, separate from police and legislative departments. That distinction matters for a docket search: police issue the citation. But the municipal clerk keeps the resulting court file.
The official court page shows Hudson's location and public contacts.
The page also keeps City Hall court business separate from the county circuit courthouse, though both sit in Hudson. Mixing them up sends requests to the wrong clerk.
Hudson Municipal Court Basics
Most traffic tickets and city ordinance violations land in Hudson Municipal Court. The city calls these forfeiture cases, not criminal prosecutions. You can hire a lawyer, but the court appoints no public defender. Criminal charges and larger trials belong to St. Croix County Circuit Court.
At the first appearance the court takes a plea and sets the next step. A not-guilty plea leads to a pretrial conference with City Attorney Rory O'Sullivan under the official procedure. A guilty or no-contest plea works differently. The judge weighs the citation, the officer report, and other relevant information before entering an order. Read the docket for the actual plea, setting, and outcome. Do not guess from the offense label.
Hudson's Mandatory-Appearance Marker
The initial date and time sit at the top of the citation. One small field, the mandatory-appearance marker, changes everything. A "Yes" means you must appear in person. A "No" means the clerk needs a plea or payment before the listed date, and silence can bring a default no-contest or guilty judgment.
That printed field deserves a look before any payment, form, or phone call, because it drives what the court requires. The official Hudson citation FAQ explains the marker and deadlines.
The guidance ties each printed field to the court response due before that date.
Court Dates and Settings in Hudson
The citation controls the initial municipal date; any later written notice controls a changed one. Asking for more time does nothing by itself. Hudson wants a written request before the court date, backed by good cause, and the court can still say no. Wait for approval rather than skipping the original setting.
| Date | The citation date or newest court notice. |
|---|---|
| Time | The initial appearance or later individual setting. |
| Location | Hudson City Hall, 505 Third Street, unless redirected. |
| Judge | Kyle Schaffer on the current official page. |
| Setting | Initial appearance, pretrial, trial, or compliance event. |
Missed a date? Call 715-386-4765 right away. The Hudson FAQ warns that ignoring a notice can bring default judgment, and unpaid amounts can trigger DOT notification or tax interception. The case order sets the exact consequence.
Written Hudson Continuances
A phone call will not move a hearing date on its own. Hudson's procedure requires a written continuance request. It must be filed before the scheduled appearance and supported by good cause. Keep a copy, and ask the clerk how the ruling will reach you. Until approval arrives, the original date stands.
If the court grants the request, read the new notice for its date, time, and purpose. If it denies the request, appear as first directed. WCCA is the wrong tool for tracking an ordinary Hudson municipal continuance, since city matters may not appear there. Go straight to the municipal clerk for confirmation.
Traffic Tickets in Hudson
Hudson processes certain fines and forfeitures through AllPaid. The city instructions ask for the citation number, court date, and amount due. They also require Pay Location Code 4073. Phone payments run through 1-888-604-7888, and the confirmation number is worth keeping. A wrong location code can send a payment to the wrong place.
The official Hudson payment page documents code 4073.
A payment screen is not a complete Hudson docket. It proves no plea, no excused appearance, and no certified disposition. For cases filed at circuit level, the county traffic ticket guide covers those records.
Hudson Adult Procedure and OWI Transfer
In Hudson Municipal Court, adults face a choice at the start. Plead not guilty and the case moves down a pretrial path. Plead guilty or no contest, and the judge can wrap it up. That can happen right there in municipal court. Cash short? You can ask for an installment plan or community service instead of a fine. A judge has to sign off first.
A first-offense OMVWI or prohibited-alcohol-concentration citation works differently. Hudson lets only these cases transfer to circuit court for a jury trial. That option requires a written request and the fees, all within ten days of your first municipal appearance. Miss that window and the option is gone. An ordinary ordinance ticket never turns into a circuit criminal case just because a police officer wrote it. The Hudson adult procedure page spells out each plea and the transfer rule.
The official page makes one thing plain. Paying online never creates a jury demand, so follow the written transfer request and the ten-day clock exactly.
Where Hudson Cases Go
Ordinance tickets stay in Hudson Municipal Court. Once a case transfers on appeal, or by statute, it lands in St. Croix County Circuit Court. Felonies, misdemeanors, civil suits, family matters, and probate all start at the county courthouse, never at City Hall.
Docket flow: Hudson Municipal Court › St. Croix County Circuit Court › Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District III
For a circuit case, run a WCCA search first. Then ask the St. Croix County Clerk of Circuit Court for the official file. A certified copy comes from the same office. Need the wider picture? The St. Croix County case lookup covers the whole county. And do not assume City Hall and the Government Center share one file. Both sit in Hudson, but that means nothing.
City Hall Versus the Government Center
Hudson wears two hats. It is a city with its own municipal court. It is also the St. Croix County seat. Municipal ordinance files live at Hudson City Hall, 505 Third Street. Circuit records live with the St. Croix County Clerk of Circuit Court. That office sits at the Government Center. Each counter answers a different docket question.
Give whichever office you visit the court name plus the case or citation number. That one habit spares you a trip to the wrong Hudson counter and keeps you from mistaking a driver abstract for a court outcome.
Private Hudson Juvenile Hearings
Juvenile cases in Hudson do not follow the adult playbook. Hearings stay private. That holds unless confidentiality is knowingly waived after talking with an attorney. Traffic matters can be handled differently too. Even the same conduct would draw an adult citation. So never assume a juvenile docket is open. The adult ordinance docket being open does not settle it.
Ask the municipal clerk directly what may lawfully be shared. Bring the ID or proof of authority you need. Skip third-party people-search sites entirely; they are not a lawful route to a juvenile file. If no public entry shows up, confidentiality may be the reason. The clerk cannot bend a statute or a court order to hand it over.
Hudson Court Record Access Rules
Ask the municipal clerk for any public Hudson court record. Your request should list the citation number, the name or caption, an approximate date, the issuing department, and the exact document you want. One caution: a payment receipt is not a certified disposition. For circuit records, find the case on WCCA first. Then request the document or certification from the St. Croix County Clerk.
Key rules:
Wis. Stat. § 19.35 provides general inspection and copy rights subject to legal limits.
Wis. Stat. § 755.01 addresses municipal-court authority.
Wis. Stat. ch. 800 governs municipal procedure, records, costs, nonpayment, and appeal.
Some material stays closed. Sealed, confidential, juvenile, and protected information can be withheld or redacted. WCCA may list an event without showing the document itself, and older converted cases sometimes run thin, so confirm everything with the court that created the record.