Sauk County, WI Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)
Key Facts
- Covers
- public AND private places
- Standard
- unreasonably loud conduct causing disturbance
- Penalty
- $10-$1,000 forfeiture
- Prosecutor
- Sauk County District Attorney
- Adopted
- 1992, amended 2009 (Ord. No. 99-09)
Summary
Unincorporated Sauk County has no separate party ordinance: a loud gathering falls under Sauk County Code Sec. 11.03, disorderly conduct, which bans unreasonably loud or boisterous behavior in a public or private place whenever it tends to provoke a disturbance.
Whoever, in a public or private place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance may be penalized as provided in this chapter. ... The penalty for violating any section of this chapter shall be a forfeiture of not less than $10.00 nor more than $1,000.00 together with court costs and fees prescribed by Wis. Stats. § 814.63(1) and (2), penalty assessment imposed by Wis. Stats. § 165.87, jail assessment imposed by Wis. Stats. § 53.46(1), and automation fee imposed by Wis. Stats. § 814.635.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 11.03 is Sauk County's general disorderly-conduct ordinance, part of a chapter the County Board adopted in 1992 and amended in 2009 under Ord. No. 99-09 to import a Wisconsin Criminal Code-style catalog of offenses into county law under Sec. 11.01. The rule reaches violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct in either a public or a private place, so a backyard or living-room party that tends to cause or provoke a disturbance is covered the same as conduct on a public street; the code does not carve out a separate host-liability standard, so the person engaging in the loud or disorderly conduct, not merely the property owner, is who Sec. 11.03 penalizes. Sauk County Sheriff's deputies enforce the chapter, and Sec. 11.19 sends prosecutions to the Sauk County District Attorney in Sauk County Circuit Court, with every case starting as a citation issued under Chapter 20 of the Code.
Violations & Fines
A Sec. 11.03 disorderly-conduct citation carries a forfeiture of not less than $10.00 nor more than $1,000.00 under Sec. 11.18, on top of court costs and fees, the penalty assessment imposed by Wis. Stats. Section 165.87, the jail assessment under Wis. Stats. Section 53.46(1), and the automation fee under Wis. Stats. Section 814.635. Deputies can arrest a violator without a warrant when the conduct is disturbing the peace, and the Sauk County District Attorney prosecutes contested citations under Sec. 11.19.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Sauk County cite me for a loud party on my own property?
Who enforces the county's disorderly conduct rule?
How much does a disorderly conduct citation cost?
Is there a separate ordinance for hosting a loud party?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sauk County
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