Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 302.43 (2026)
Good time
✓ current as of July 2026
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302.43302.43 Good time. Every inmate of a county jail is eligible to earn good time in the amount of one-fourth of his or her term for good behavior if sentenced to at least 4 days, but fractions of a day shall be ignored. An inmate shall be given credit for time served prior to sentencing under s. 973.155, including good time under s. 973.155 (4). An inmate who violates any law or any regulation of the jail, or neglects or refuses to perform any duty lawfully required of him or her, may be deprived by the sheriff of good time under this section, except that the sheriff shall not deprive the inmate of more than 2 days good time for any one offense without the approval of the court. An inmate who files an action or special proceeding, including a petition for a common law writ of certiorari, to which s. 807.15 applies shall be deprived of the number of days of good time specified in the court order prepared under s. 807.15 (3). This section does not apply to a person who is confined in the county jail in connection with his or her participation in a substance abuse treatment program that meets the requirements of s. 165.95 (3), as determined by the department of justice under s. 165.95 (9) and (10).
302.43 HistoryHistory: 1977 c. 353; 1989 a. 31 s. 1667; Stats. 1989 s. 302.43; 1997 a. 133; 2005 a. 25; 2013 a. 20.
302.43 Cross-referenceCross-reference: See also ss. DOC 302.30, 302.31, 326.10, and 331.13, Wis. adm. code.
302.43 AnnotationA person confined in jail as a condition of probation is not entitled to earn good time. State v. Fearing, 2000 WI App 229, 239 Wis. 2d 105, 619 N.W.2d 115, 99-2849.
302.43 AnnotationWhen the defendant was sentenced to ten months in the house of correction for battery and seven years in state prison for intimidation, the defendant was not entitled to “good time” credit for the house of correction sentence, which should be applied to the prison sentence. The trial court was required to construe the defendant’s sentences as a single sentence, which put the sentences under the purview of s. 973.01. Because the defendant was, under the terms of the statutes, an inmate of the prison system rather than the county jail, this section, the county jail “good time” statute, does not apply to the defendant’s sentence. State v. Harris, 2011 WI App 130, 337 Wis. 2d 222, 805 N.W.2d 386, 10-1955.
302.43 AnnotationOne confined for civil (remedial) contempt is not eligible to earn good time, but one confined for criminal (punitive) contempt is eligible. 74 Atty. Gen. 96.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1992–2025 · leading case: Hayward v. Marshall, 603 F.3d 546 (9th Cir. 2010).
Hayward v. Marshall, 603 F.3d 546 (9th Cir. 2010). “57, §§ 65 , 138; Or.Rev.Stat. § 169.110; S.C.”
State v. Harris, 2011 WI App 130 (Wis. Ct. App. 2011). “155 — he was entitled to eighty-six days of credit on the premise that, had he served his sentence for the battery in the house of correction, as his sentence indicated — he would have been entitled to statutory "good time" under Wis. Stat. § 302.43 , which allows county jail…”
State v. Crochiere, 2004 WI 78 (Wis. 2004). “Wis. Stat. § 302.43 (1999-2000). The parole commission decided when an eligible inmate would be released on parole.”
State v. Fearing, 2000 WI App 229 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000). “Fearing contends that under Wis. Stat. § 302.43 he is entitled to earn good time while confined *112 in jail as a condition of probation.”
State v. Cesar Antonio Lira, 2021 WI 81 (Wis. 2021). “155"); Wis. Stat. § 302.43 ("Good time" statute for confinement in county jails, which notes that inmates are given credit "for time served prior to sentencing under s.”
State v. Moore, 481 N.W.2d 633 (Wis. 1992). “, 1987-88 (renumbered as sec. 302.43, Stats., (1989-90). With respect to prison sentences, the statutes refer to a prisoner's "mandatory release date.”
State ex rel. Baade v. Hayes, 2015 WI App 71 (Wis. Ct. App. 2015). “Wis. Stat. §§ 302.43 , 973.03. (3) A defendant sentenced to the Wisconsin state prisons and to a county jail for separate crimes shall serve any consecutive sentences in the state prisons "as one continuous sentence.”
State v. Kluck, 563 N.W.2d 468 (Wis. 1997). “§ 302.43 (1993-94). "Good time" is a means, built into the system by the legislature, for providing an incentive for good conduct to jailed defendants.”
State Ex Rel. Darby v. Litscher, 2002 WI App 258 (Wis. Ct. App. 2002). “He claims that the Department of Corrections (DOC) erred in its computation of his confinement time by failing to give him good time credit pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 302.43 1 and 303.19(3) *274 (1999-2000) 2 for his misdemeanor convictions.”
State v. Presley, 2006 WI App 82 (Wis. Ct. App. 2006). “(1) shall include earned good time for those inmates subject to §§ 302.43, 303.07(3) or 303.19(3) serving sentences of one year or less and confined in a county jail, house of correction or county reforestation camp.”
State v. McClinton, 536 N.W.2d 413 (Wis. Ct. App. 1995). “The trial court stated that if it construed § 302.43, Stats., to be mandatory, the statute would not carry out the intent of the legislature to give trial courts discretion to impose reasonable conditions upon probation eligibility.”
State v. Obed David Lopez (Wis. Ct. App. 2025). “STAT. §] 973.155, including good time under [§] 973.”
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