Appeals
Herrick & Hart has appealed civil cases regarding personal injury, family law, business matters, contract issues, insurance coverage issues, real estate matters, and criminal law. We have successfully handled numerous appeals to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. We handle appeals from any court in the State of Wisconsin. Clients, and even other law firms, turn to us to appeal their cases when the lower court's outcome was unfavorable.
An appeal is a procedure through which the losing party in the circuit court seeks to have that court's judgment or order overturned by a higher court because of some alleged error in the proceedings. Some appeals are "permissive," or accepted at the choice of the appellate court. Other appeals are "appeals of right." These are appeals which are guaranteed, such as a defendant's right to appeal a criminal conviction.
Sometimes an appeal may be taken before the case even goes to trial. A party can appeal unfavorable pre-trial rulings (like suppression of evidence). These are called "interlocutory appeals" and the case is put on hold until these questions are answered. As most interlocutory appeals are permissive, appellate courts often do not accept them.
Generally, the issues raised on appeal involve complex interpretations of the law. Occasionally, appeals involve questions of fact what actually happened but this does not occur often because appellate courts must usually rely on the factual determinations that the circuit court or jury has already made.
An appellate court is by definition a court that reviews decisions made by other courts. It is not the place to start a case or introduce new evidence. The appellate court considers only the written record of what occurred in the circuit court and the arguments made by the parties in written briefs and oral argument.
The final appellate court decision will either: (1) affirm, (2) reverse, or (3) modify a judgment or order of the lower court.
Wisconsin Appellate Court System
The Court of Appeals is divided into four districts, each approximately equal in population and the number of appeals taken:
District I - covers only Milwaukee County;
District II - covers the rest of southeastern Wisconsin;
District III - covers the northern part of the state; and
District IV - covers southwestern Wisconsin.
Each district has three or four elected judges who sit singly or in panels of three depending on the kind of case being heard. Though there are four districts, the Court of Appeals functions as one court with published decisions in one district binding over the others. All appeals are filed through a single clerk of courts in Madison. The county from which the appeal originates determines the district to which the case is assigned.
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 are binding precedent until overruled by the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has recognized that the Court of Appeals has a "law defining and law development" function.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, is the state's highest court. Located in the state Capitol, it has appellate jurisdiction over all Wisconsin courts and has discretion to determine which appeals it will hear. The Supreme Court may also hear original actions -- cases that have not been heard in a lower court. The court selects the cases it will review based on criteria described in the Wisconsin Statutes. A primary function of the Supreme Court is to ensure independent, open, fair, and efficient resolution of disputes in accordance with the federal and state constitutions and laws.
Federal Appellate Court System
Both state and federal courts have jurisdiction over Wisconsin residents. State courts generally handle cases pertaining to state laws, but the federal government may give state courts jurisdiction over specified federal questions. The federal courts in Wisconsin handle cases involving violations of federal law and cases involving state law if one party is a Wisconsin resident and the other party resides in a different state.
Congress has provided specialized tribunals for initial decisions in cases involving certain federal laws. For example, bankruptcy judges in the federal districts oversee the process by which individuals or businesses that can no longer pay their creditors either seek a court supervised liquidation of their assets, or reorganize their financial affairs and work out a plan to pay off their debts. In addition, administrative law judges based within federal agencies make initial decisions in areas as diverse as labor disputes and telecommunications.
Although federal courts are located in every state, they are not the only forum available to potential litigants. In fact, the great majority of legal disputes in American courts are addressed in the separate state court systems. For example, state courts have jurisdiction over virtually all divorce and child custody matters, probate and inheritance issues, real estate questions, and juvenile matters, and they handle most criminal cases, contract disputes, traffic violations, and personal injury cases.
Appeals
The losing party in the trial court in the federal system normally is entitled to appeal the
decision to a federal Court of Appeals. In a civil case either side may appeal the verdict. In a criminal case, the defendant may appeal a guilty verdict, but the government may not appeal if a defendant is found not guilty. Either side in a criminal case may appeal with respect to the sentence that is imposed after a guilty verdict.
In most bankruptcy courts, an appeal of a ruling by a bankruptcy judge may be taken to the district court. Several courts of appeals, however, have established a Bankruptcy Appellate Panel consisting of three bankruptcy judges to hear appeals directly from the bankruptcy courts. In either situation, the party that loses in the initial bankruptcy appeal may then appeal to the court of appeals.
Appeals are decided by panels of three Court of Appeals judges working together. The appellant presents his/her legal arguments to the panel in a brief that tries to persuade the judges that the trial court made an error, and that its decision should be reversed. On the other hand, the party defending against the appeal, known as the “appellee,” tries in its brief to show why the trial court decision was correct, or why any error made by the trial court was not significant enough to affect the outcome of the case. Although some cases are decided on the basis of written briefs alone, many cases are selected for an oral argument before the court
The Court of Appeals decision usually will be the final word in the case, unless it sends the case back to the federal trial court for additional proceedings, or the parties ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Appeals Attorney
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