By David R. Schanker, clerk, Wisconsin Supreme Court

Appellate e-filing is here. Beginning July 1, 2009, attorneys must electronically file a copy of all appellate briefs, no-merit reports, petitions for review, and responses. If you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with the new appellate rules, now is the time. Please see Wis. Stat. §§ 809.19(8)(a)4., 809.19(12), 809.19(13), 809.32(1)(fm), 809.62(4)(b), (c), and (d), 809.80(3), and 809.80(5).

The requirements of the new rules are straightforward. Electronic filing will be done using the court's web-based e-filing interface, available at www.wicourts.gov. To register for the system, click on the “Electronic Filing (eFiling)” button on the right side of the screen and follow the directions. You need to register only once to use the electronic filing system in the circuit court and appellate courts. [If you’ve already signed up to use the CLE reporting system, you’re registered for e-filing.] Be sure to note your user ID and password, which you will use whenever you access the system to view documents, and your PIN number, which you will need to e-file documents.

A few key items regarding appellate e-filing:

• The rules require electronically-filed briefs, no-merit reports, and petitions for review (and responses) to be submitted in text-searchable Portable Document Format (PDF). Text-Searchable PDF is created by converting a word processing document into PDF.

• The optional electronic appendix must be filed in PDF Image format, which is created by scanning the paper appendix. When scanning documents, set your scanner resolution to at least 300 d.p.i. and no more than 600 d.p.i., and please scan in black and white (not “grayscale” or color).

• Filing a document electronically does not alter or extend any filing deadline. A document that is received electronically after the close of business is considered to have been filed on the next business day.

• Self-represented litigants are excluded from the e-filing requirement, but may e-file. Neither attorneys nor self-represented litigants are required to file an electronic copy of the appendix, but are encouraged to do so.

• The Supreme Court Clerk’s Office will not accept submission of electronic documents by e-mail or on diskettes, CDs, or flash drives. Documents must be submitted through the e-filing system.

• The required electronic copy is in addition to the paper copies currently required. The number of required paper copies has not changed, and the deadlines for filing of paper copies have not changed.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Supreme Court Clerk’s Office at (608) 266-1880 or at clerk@wicourts.gov with any questions regarding the new rules.

• Related: Supreme Court Orders 08-15 and 08-18 (filed Jan. 6, 2009)

• Related: Electronically Filed Briefs: Practical Tips (WisBar InsideTrack, Feb. 4, 2009)

• Related: Paperless Courts: E-filing in Wisconsin Circuit Courts (Wisconsin Lawyer, July 2008)