Chapter 809

809.19 Note Revised sub. (8) (c) clarifies that the page limit does not include the table of contents, table of cases and other authorities, statement of issues, statement on oral argument and publication, appendix or supplemental appendix. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1989]

809.19 Note Judicial Council Note, 2001: Subsection (1) (h) requires a signature on briefs. Subsection (1) (i) makes identification of the parties consistent and less confusing. Subsection (3) was revised to address a situation in which the appellant’s brief is served on the respondent, but has not yet been accepted for filing by the court. If the respondent undertakes to prepare its brief within 30 days after service of the appellant’s brief and the appellant’s brief has not yet been accepted for filing, the respondent will have wasted time and energy if the appellant’s brief ultimately is rejected. The last sentence of sub. (4) was added to require record references and a conclusion in a reply brief. Subsection (6) was rewritten to clarify briefing requirements in cross-appeals. The time limit in sub. (7) (c) was changed from 10 to 14 days. Please see the comment to s. 808.07 (6) concerning time limits. The reference to s. 809.43 was deleted in sub. (8) (a) 1. because the greater number of copies is needed when a single-judge appeal reaches the supreme court. Subsection (8) (a) 3. was amended to apply to pro se parties only. Subsection (8) (b) 4. was amended to allow “velobinding” of briefs, a process commonly accepted but not authorized by statute. Subsection (9) requires parties to use the complete case caption. Parties shall not abridge the caption by use of “et al” or similar phrases. Subsections (10) and (11) are new and establish a procedure for supplementing briefs or oral argument with pertinent authorities that subsequently come to the attention of a party or an amicus curiae, who is denoted a “nonparty” under sub. (7), or a guardian ad litem under sub. (8m). This procedure is based upon Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 28 (j) and Circuit Rule 28 (e) of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. [Re Order No. 00-02 effective July 1, 2001]

809.19 Note Judicial Council Note, 2002: Occasionally an appellant’s brief is filed before the record is filed with the appellate court clerk, especially in cases involving pro se appellants. The amendments to subs. (3) and (6) (b) 1. conform to current practice by establishing the due date for the respondent’s brief or respondent-cross-appellant’s brief as the latest of thirty days after date of service of the appellant’s brief (plus three days if service is by mail), thirty days after the date on which the court accepts the appellant’s brief or appellant-cross-respondent’s brief for filing, or thirty days after the date on which the record is filed in the office of the clerk.

809.19 Note Subsection (9) is amended to conform to the party designations used by the clerk’s office when a petition for review is granted. [Re Order No. 02-01 effective January 1, 2003]

809.19 Annotation Comment, October 2005: As the number of appeals has increased, the Court of Appeals’ reliance on appendices during the decision-making process has increased. The Court of Appeals requests that Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.19 (2) (b) be created to require that appellant’s counsel certify compliance with Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.19 (2) (a) (as renumbered by this order), that requires an appellant’s brief include an appendix and sets forth the contents of the appendix. The Court of Appeals believes that a certification requirement, similar to the form and length certification required by Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.19 (8) (d) will result in increased compliance with renumbered Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.19 (2) (a) and improve the quality of appendices that are filed with the court. [Re Sup. Ct. Order No. 04-11]

809.19 Note NOTE: Sup. Ct. Order No. 08-15 and 08-18, 2009 WI 4, states: “The following Comment to Wis. Stat. §§ (Rule) 809.19 (12) and 809.19 (13) is not adopted but will be published and may be consulted for guidance in interpreting and applying the statute.”

809.19 Note Comment, 2008: An electronic brief required under s. 809.19 (12) and an electronic appendix requested under s. 809.19 (13) are in addition to and not a replacement for the paper brief and appendix required under s. 809.19. The filing requirement is satisfied only when the requisite number of paper copies of the brief and appendix and the electronic brief are filed.

809.19 Note The filing of an electronic appendix is encouraged, but not required. These rules do not provide for total electronic filing at the appellate level. Accordingly, the paper copies of appellate briefs and appendices constitute the official court record.

809.19 Note An electronic brief shall be submitted to the court as a text-searchable Portable Document Format (PDF) document. “PDF” is a universal file format that preserves the fonts, formatting, pagination, and graphics of a source document. A text-searchable brief is created by electronically converting the original word processing file to a PDF document. An electronic appendix may be submitted as a non-text-searchable PDF document. A non-text-searchable appendix is created by scanning the paper document to create a PDF document.

809.19 Note Electronic briefs may be enhanced with internal links (such as a table of contents with links to locations in the brief) or external links (links to websites containing the text of cases or statutes cited in the brief). External links in an electronic brief shall not require a password for access to the case or statute. No enhancement to an electronic brief shall alter the text of the brief.

809.19 Note All electronic briefs shall be submitted in a single electronic file. The file containing the electronic brief shall not contain the appendix or any other document or material. An electronic appendix containing more than 200 pages may be split into smaller electronic files.

809.19 Note Sample electronic brief certification form:

809.19 Note CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 809.19 (12)

809.19 Note I hereby certify that:

809.19 Note I have submitted an electronic copy of this brief, excluding the appendix, if any, which complies with the requirements of s. 809.19 (12). I further certify that:

809.19 Note This electronic brief is identical in content and format to the printed form of the brief filed as of this date.

809.19 Note A copy of this certificate has been served with the paper copies of this brief filed with the court and served on all opposing parties.

809.19 Note   Signed ....

809.19 Note   Signature

809.19 Note Sample electronic appendix certification form:

809.19 Note CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 809.19 (13)

809.19 Note I hereby certify that:

809.19 Note I have submitted an electronic copy of this appendix, which complies with the requirements of s. 809.19 (13). I further certify that:

809.19 Note This electronic appendix is identical in content to the printed form of the appendix filed as of this date.

809.19 Note A copy of this certificate has been served with the paper copies of this appendix filed with the court and served on all opposing parties.

809.19 Note   Signed ....

809.19 Note   Signature

809.19 Note [Re Order No. 08-15 and 08-18 effective July 1, 2009]

809.19 Note NOTE: Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07 states that “the Comments to the statutes created pursuant to this order are not adopted, but will be published and may be consulted for guidance in interpreting and applying the rule.”

809.19 Note Comment, 2021: Sub. (1) (g) addresses cases in which an individual seeks a restraining order or harassment injunction as protection against domestic abuse or violence. 18 U.S.C. 2265 (d) prohibits making public on the Internet any information that would reveal the identity or location of the party seeking protection. In Wisconsin, parties should designate the party seeking protection solely as “petitioner” in the case caption and the briefs. Adding this requirement to the rule is consistent with current practice and federal requirements. It is an exception to par. (i), which otherwise requires reference to the parties by name and not by party designation. A similar change is made to s. 809.81 (9) regarding the caption.

809.19 Note Since late 2018, the circuit court case management software has been assigning a document number to each item in the circuit court record as it is filed. Sub. (2) (a) provides that the same number will be used in the record index for the appeal. This will make it easier for parties to refer to documents and will prevent confusion from stamping a document with two different numbers.

809.19 Note Sub. (2) (ae) requires the appendix to be filed as a single document. In the event of a very large appendix that cannot be electronically filed as a single document due to the size limitations of the system, s. 809.801 (8) directs the user to contact the clerk of court for assistance.

809.19 Note Sub. (3) (a) provides that the events used for calculation of the time for a response brief are filing of the brief, service of the brief, and filing of the record. When the clerk accepts a filed document, the clerk’s entry of the new document into the court record will trigger a notice of activity to the electronic parties, thereby serving them. Thus, for electronic parties the filing and service of the brief will often be the same day. For briefs submitted after the business hours of the clerk’s office, the clerk will enter the document into the court record the next business day, so the filing date will be different than the date of electronic service. The calculation of time for parties served by paper remains as provided in s. 809.8 (4) (b) and 801.14 (2).

809.19 Note Sub. (8) (a) provides that electronic filing users no longer need to file multiple paper copies of briefs with the court. A notice of activity to users is generated when the clerk enters the brief into the court record, allowing the other electronic parties to access the brief electronically. Paper parties file one paper copy of each brief and appendix with the court, which the clerk will scan and make part of the record.

809.19 Note Sub. (8) (b) makes a number of changes to form, while maintaining the overall appearance of the documents. Standards for handwritten briefs have been added, along with a statement of the court’s authority to review briefs for legibility. Margins are required so that scanned documents will include all the words.

809.19 Note Sub. (8) (bm) requires pagination using Arabic numerals beginning on the first page of each document. This will match the page number to the page header applied by the eFiling system, avoiding the confusion of having two different page numbers.

809.19 Note Sub. (8) (c) is reorganized to clarify allowable page counts and word limits for the various kinds of briefs. Page limits specific to handwritten briefs have been added, based on the average number of words per page found in handwritten briefs currently on file.

809.19 Note Sub. (8g) addresses certification of the brief, appendix, and supplemental appendix in a single section. The language of the certifications for brief and appendix is largely unchanged. Certifications may be combined into a single document for signature. Electronic filing users may certify using their electronic signatures.

809.19 Annotation Appellate counsel’s appendix containing only a copy of the judgment of conviction, a notice of motion and motion to suppress, and a notice of intent to pursue postconviction relief did not meet the standard under sub. (2) (a) to contain items “essential to an understanding of the issues raised.” When counsel certified that the essential items were in the appendix when they were not, the certification was false and counsel was subject to sanction. State v. Bons, 2007 WI App 124, 301 Wis. 2d 227, 731 N.W.2d 367, 06-1625.

809.19 Annotation When the court of appeals is considering imposing a sanction on an attorney for filing a brief with a deficient appendix, an order to show cause should be issued directing counsel to explain why a violation of sub. (2) (a) and (b) should not be found and why the attorney should not pay a monetary penalty for failing to include in the appendix portions of the record that may have been essential to an understanding of the issue in the case and for filing a false certification. The order to show cause should state that alternatively, the attorney may pay the amount of money stated in the order within 30 days of the date of the order without showing cause why the attorney should not be relieved of this obligation. State v. Nielsen, 2011 WI 94, 337 Wis. 2d 302, 805 N.W.2d 353, 10-0387.

809.19 Annotation The page length limits in sub. (8) apply in original jurisdiction actions. Watts v. Thompson, 116 F.3d 220 (1997).

809.20 809.20 Rule (Assignment and advancement of cases). The court may take cases under submission in such order and upon such notice as it determines. A party may file a motion to advance the submission of a case either before or after the briefs have been filed. The motion should recite the nature of the public or private interest involved, the issues in the case and how delay in submission will be prejudicial to the accomplishment of justice.

809.20 History History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978).

809.20 Note Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1978: This rule incorporates the present unwritten procedure for having the submission of a case advanced. It also specifies the factors that may affect the advancement of a case. [Re Order effective July 1, 1978]

809.21 809.21 Rule (Summary disposition).

809.21(1) (1) The court upon its own motion or upon the motion of a party may dispose of an appeal summarily.

809.21(2) (2) A party may file at any time a motion for summary disposition of an appeal. Section 809.14 governs the procedure on the motion.

809.21 History History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978); 1981 c. 390 s. 252.

809.21 Note Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1978: The basic concept in former Rule 251.54 of allowing the Supreme Court to dispose of appeals summarily is continued, but Rule 809.21 specifically authorizes a motion for this purpose. Such a motion was often used under prior procedure, but the rules did not expressly authorize it. [Re Order effective July 1, 1978]

809.22 809.22 Rule (Oral argument).

809.22(1) (1) The court shall determine whether a case is to be submitted with oral argument or on briefs only.

809.22(2) (2) The court may direct that an appeal be submitted on briefs only if:

809.22(2)(a) (a) The arguments of the appellant:

809.22(2)(a)1. 1. Are plainly contrary to relevant legal authority that appear to be sound and are not significantly challenged;

809.22(2)(a)2. 2. Are on their face without merit and for which no supporting authority is cited or discovered; or

809.22(2)(a)3. 3. Involve solely questions of fact and the fact findings are clearly supported by sufficient evidence; or

809.22(2)(b) (b) The briefs fully present and meet the issues on appeal and fully develop the theories and legal authorities on each side so that oral argument would be of such marginal value that it does not justify the additional expenditure of court time or cost to the litigant.

809.22(3) (3) The court shall determine the amount of time for oral argument allowed to each party in a case either by general or special order.

809.22(4) (4) On motion of any party or its own motion, the court may order that oral argument be heard by telephone.

809.22 History History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978); Sup. Ct. Order, 141 Wis. 2d xiii (1987).

809.22 Note Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1978: The Supreme Court has for a number of years scheduled some cases for submission on briefs only without oral argument in an effort to accommodate its burgeoning caseload. The criteria by which the court decides whether a case is to have oral argument have never been formally adopted. This rule is a statement of those criteria. Counsel should address these criteria in their briefs in discussing the question of the need for oral argument. See Rule 809.19 (1) (c). Flexibility is provided by sub. (3) as to the length of oral argument in order to meet the needs of an individual case. It may be appropriate, for example, to have an oral argument for the sole purpose of allowing the court to ask questions of counsel. [Re Order effective July 1, 1978]

809.22 Note Judicial Council Note, 1988: Sub. (4) [created] authorizes oral arguments to be heard by telephone conference on motion of any party or the court of appeals. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1988]

809.23 809.23 Rule (Publication of opinions).

809.23(1) (1) Criteria for publication.

809.23(1)(a) (a) While neither controlling nor fully measuring the court’s discretion, criteria for publication in the official reports of an opinion of the court include whether the opinion:

809.23(1)(a)1. 1. Enunciates a new rule of law or modifies, clarifies or criticizes an existing rule;

809.23(1)(a)2. 2. Applies an established rule of law to a factual situation significantly different from that in published opinions;

809.23(1)(a)3. 3. Resolves or identifies a conflict between prior decisions;

809.23(1)(a)4. 4. Contributes to the legal literature by collecting case law or reciting legislative history; or

809.23(1)(a)5. 5. Decides a case of substantial and continuing public interest.

809.23(1)(b) (b) An opinion should not be published when:

809.23(1)(b)1. 1. The issues involve no more than the application of well-settled rules of law to a recurring fact situation;

809.23(1)(b)2. 2. The issue asserted is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the judgment and the briefs show the evidence is sufficient;

809.23(1)(b)3. 3. The issues are decided on the basis of controlling precedent and no reason appears for questioning or qualifying the precedent;

809.23(1)(b)4. 4. The decision is by one court of appeals judge under s. 752.31 (2) and (3);

809.23(1)(b)5. 5. It is a per curiam opinion on issues other than appellate jurisdiction or procedure;

809.23(1)(b)6. 6. It has no significant value as precedent.

809.23(2) (2) Decision on publication. The judges of the court of appeals who join in an opinion in an appeal or other proceeding shall make a recommendation on whether the opinion should be published. A committee composed of the chief judge or a judge of the court of appeals designated by the chief judge and one judge from each district of the court of appeals selected by the court of appeals judges of each district shall determine whether an opinion is to be published.

809.23(3) (3) Citation of unpublished opinions.

809.23(3)(a) (a) An unpublished opinion may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent or authority, except to support a claim of claim preclusion, issue preclusion, or the law of the case, and except as provided in par. (b).

809.23(3)(b) (b) In addition to the purposes specified in par. (a), an unpublished opinion issued on or after July 1, 2009, that is authored by a member of a three-judge panel or by a single judge under s. 752.31 (2) may be cited for its persuasive value. A per curiam opinion, memorandum opinion, summary disposition order, or other order is not an authored opinion for purposes of this subsection. Because an unpublished opinion cited for its persuasive value is not precedent, it is not binding on any court of this state. A court need not distinguish or otherwise discuss an unpublished opinion and a party has no duty to research or cite it.

809.23(3)(c) (c) A party citing an unpublished opinion shall file and serve a copy of the opinion with the brief or other paper in which the opinion is cited.

809.23(4) (4) Request for publication.

809.23(4)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), any person may at any time file a request that an opinion not recommended for publication or an unreported opinion be published in the official reports.

809.23(4)(b) (b) No request may be made for the publication of an opinion that is a decision by one court of appeals judge under s. 752.31 (2) and (3) or that is a per curiam opinion on issues other than appellate jurisdiction or procedure.

809.23(4)(c) (c) A person may request that a per curiam opinion that does not address issues of appellate jurisdiction or procedure be withdrawn, authored and recommended for publication. That request shall be filed within 20 days of the date of the opinion and shall be decided by the panel that decided the appeal.

809.23(4)(d) (d) A copy of any request made under this subsection shall be served on the parties to the appeal or other proceeding in which the opinion was filed. A party to the appeal or proceeding may file a response to the request within 5 days after the request is filed.

809.23 History History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978); Sup. Ct. Order, 92 Wis. 2d xiii; 1981 c. 390 s. 252; Sup. Ct. Order, 109 Wis. 2d xiii (1982); Sup. Ct. Order, 118 Wis. 2d xiii (1984); 1991 a. 189, Sup. Ct. Order No. 96-10, 208 Wis. 2d xiii (1997), Sup. Ct. Order No. 01-04, 2001 WI 135, 248 Wis. 2d xvii; Sup. Ct. Order No. 08-02, 2009 WI 2, 311 Wis. 2d xxv; Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07, 2021 WI 37, 397 Wis. 2d xiii.

809.23 Note Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1978: As with Rule 809.22 on oral argument, a former practice of the Supreme Court is written into this Rule and formal criteria established for it. The trend toward nonpublication of opinions is nationwide and results from the explosion of appellate court opinions being written and published. Many studies of the problem have concluded that unless the number of opinions published each year is reduced legal research will become inordinately time-consuming and expensive. Some argue that even accepting the premise that a court may properly decide not to publish an opinion this should not prevent that opinion from being cited as precedent since in common law practice any decision of a court is by its nature precedent. Others argue that a court may try to hide what it is doing in a particular case by preventing the publication of the opinion in the case.