March 15, 2017 – Learn to navigate the new e-filing rules, from filing notice of appeal to petitioning for supreme court review, with Appellate Practice and Procedure in Wisconsin, published by State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE^® – your hands-on counsel to help you with your appeal.

In addition to an overview and 28 chapters on the basic steps and specific procedures of an appeal, the latest edition of Appellate Practice provides several indispensable appendices, including a “Standards of Appellate Review” outline (prepared by the Honorable Thomas Hruz of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals) and 30 forms used in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (updated by Diane Fremgen, Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals clerk).

Guidance through the New E-filing Procedures in the Appellate Courts

If your legal practice involves appellate work, then you’re familiar with the documents that attorneys must file electronically (e-file) in the appellate courts: appellate briefs, petitions for supreme court review and responses, and no-merit reports and supplemental no-merit reports. Wis. Stat. §§ 809.19(8)(a)4., (12), .32(1)(fm), .62(4)(b).

Since those e-filing rules took effect in 2009, attorney-author Michael S. Heffernan offers guidance on making sure you comply with them. He explains, for example, that parties must still file paper copies of documents, even documents that have been e-filed. He further advises that, even though appendices need not be e-filed, e-filing for those and certain other documents is nevertheless “strongly recommended.”

How New E-filing Rules in the Circuit Courts Affect Appeals

Since July 1, 2016, pursuant to a Wisconsin Supreme Court mandate, Wisconsin’s circuit courts have been phasing in e-filing. Although full implementation of e-filing – across the state and for all case types – isn’t likely until 2019, attorneys should be aware of how the new rules affect their appeals of circuit court decisions.

In the latest edition of Appellate Practice, Heffernan reminds readers that certain documents – such as the notice of appeal and notice of intent to pursue postdisposition or appellate relief – must be filed in the circuit court, with copies sent to the court of appeals. But even when documents are e-filed in a county with mandatory e-filing, the attorney must still send paper copies to the court of appeals.

E-filing Exceptions for Self-represented Litigants in Limited-scope Representation Cases

If you’re advising a person who is otherwise self-represented by providing limited-scope representation in an appeal – and not filing any documents on that party’s behalf – the e-filing rules described above most likely will not apply. Although self-represented parties may file electronic copies of documents in the court of appeals and the supreme court, e-filing isn’t mandatory in those courts. Wis. Stat. §§ 809.19(12)(a), .62(4)(b). Similarly, self-represented parties may voluntarily register to e-file documents in the circuit courts, but e-filing isn’t required. Wis. Stat. § 801.18(3)(b).

How to Order

Appellate Practice and Procedure is available in both print and online via Books UnBound^®, the State Bar’s interactive online library. The print book costs $179 for members and $229 for nonmembers. Electronic forms from the book are available online to print book owners and to Books UnBound subscribers.

Subscribers to the State Bar’s automatic supplementation service will receive future updates at a discount off the regular price. Annual subscriptions to Books UnBound start at $159 per title (single-user price, call for full-library and law-firm pricing).

For more information, or to place an order, visit the WisBar Marketplace or call the State Bar at (800) 728-7788 or (608) 257-3838.