Wisconsin Court of Appeals

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in the state of Wisconsin, above the Wisconsin Circuit Courts but below the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court of appeals was created in 1977 to assist the Wisconsin court system handle the rising number of appellate cases.

The primary function of the Court of Appeals is to correct errors that occurred at the circuit court level. The published opinions of the Court of Appeals are considered binding precedent until overruled by the Supreme Court. The Court generally sits in three-judge panels to decide the merits of an appeal, but some categories of cases, such as small claims, municipal ordinance violations, and misdemeanor cases may be decided by a single judge.

Composition

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is composed of sixteen judges from four geographic districts. The judges are elected to six-year terms in district-wide, non-partisan elections. Vacancies are filled by gubernatorial appointment, but an appointee is required to stand for election to a full six-year term the following year.

Districts

* District I is headquartered in Milwaukee and contains only Milwaukee County.

*District II is headquartered in Waukesha and contains Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebago counties.

* District III is headquartered in Wausau and contains Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Iron, Kewaunee, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Shawano, St. Croix, Taylor,Trempealeau, Vilas, and Washburn counties.

*District IV is headquartered in Madison and contains Adams, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marquette, Monroe, Portage, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood counties.

Judges

External links

* [http://www.wicourts.gov/about/organization/appeals/index.htm About the Court of Appeals]
* [http://www.wicourts.gov/ca/IOPCA.pdf Wisconsin Court of Appeals Operating Procedures]
* [http://www.wicourts.gov/about/judges/appeals/index.htm Court of Appeals Judges]