Purpose: This glossary defines terms used on the Wisconsin Court System Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access, or WSCCA, website to provide a general understanding of appellate court information.
Applicable Users: Attorneys, court staff, and the general public
Note: These terms and definitions apply to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, as appropriate. These definitions are for informational purposes only, are not exhaustive, and should not be considered legal authority.
Glossary
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Appeal | A request for a higher court (an appellate court) to review a decision made by a lower court (a circuit court). An appeal is typically started by filing a notice of appeal. |
| Appeal number |
A unique number assigned to each appeal. The number begins with a four-digit year, followed by "AP" and a six-digit number (e.g., 2001AP000001). A suffix may be added to distinguish the case type (e.g., "CR" for a criminal appeal or "W" for a petition for supervisory writ). Certain other matters, such as pre-appeal motions, are assigned numbers with the filing year followed by "XX." These matters do not fit into a regular case category, but are filed and reviewed by the court. |
| Appellant | The party that files a notice of appeal. |
| Brief | A document setting forth the legal arguments of a party in an appeal. |
| Caption | A list of all parties in a case and their roles (e.g., Plaintiff, Defendant). In an appeal, roles include appellant, respondent, cross-appellant, cross-respondent, or petitioner. The "Short Caption" is an abbreviated version. |
| Certification | A process where the Court of Appeals asks the Supreme Court to take a case and issue a decision. The Supreme Court decides whether to grant the certification. The Supreme Court may also take jurisdiction of a pending appeal on its own motion. |
| Certified question | A question of law sent to the Supreme Court from a court in another jurisdiction. These cases are identified by a "CQ" suffix. |
| Class | The type of case on appeal (e.g., criminal-felony, criminal-misdemeanor, family-divorce). |
| Circuit court case number | The unique number assigned by a circuit court when a case was first filed. |
| Closed (CL) | A case status indicating the appellate court has issued a final disposition and the case is no longer active. |
| Confidential | By statute, records for certain case types are confidential or restricted. Information in these cases is not available for public viewing. |
| Court reporter's statement on transcript | A statement filed by a court reporter to notify the court that the transcripts requested for an appeal have been filed with the circuit court. |
| Court record (docket entries) | A list of all recorded activities that have taken place in the circuit court case. |
| Cross appellant | A respondent who files a notice of cross-appeal. |
| Disposition |
The final decision of the court. Common dispositions include:
|
| Docket | A list of all activities that have occurred or are scheduled to occur in a case before the court. |
| Docketing statement | A statement filed by the appellant in some civil cases that helps the court determine if the appeal is eligible for the Expedited Appeals (Fast-Track) calendar. Only civil cases in which attorneys represent all sides are eligible for the Expedited Appeals calendar. Expedited appeals are identified by an "FT" suffix. |
| FRO | Abbreviation for "IT IS FURTHER ORDERED." |
| Maintenance | Provides information on certain documents filed in a case. |
| Motion | A request made to the court for a specific ruling, such as a motion for an extension of time to file a brief. |
| OCCD | Abbreviation that indicates a listed activity occurred on the date shown. |
| Open (OP) | A case status indicating the case is active and has not yet had a final disposition. |
| Opinion | The court’s written decision. All Supreme Court opinions and select Court of Appeals opinions that meet certain criteria are published. All published opinions receive citation numbers. |
| Order | A document issued by the court that sets forth a decision on a motion or other proceeding. |
| ORD | Abbreviation for "IT IS ORDERED." |
| Panel | The number of judges (one or three) assigned to decide a Court of Appeals case, as determined by statute. "1/3 Judge" indicates how many judges will decide an appeal. |
| PEND | An indicator that the court is waiting for a scheduled activity to occur on the date shown. A "PEND" status may remain for some items even after the case has a disposition. |
| Pending remittitur (PR) | A case status after a decision has been issued. The case is waiting for the record to be returned (remitted) to the circuit court, or the file to be closed, if there is no case record. |
| Petitioner | A party who files a petition with the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court. |
| Petition for leave to appeal | A petition asking the Court of Appeals to review a non-final order of the circuit court. This case type is identified by an "LV" suffix. |
| Petition for original action | A petition asking the Supreme Court to take jurisdiction of a case that has not been filed in a lower court. This case type is identified by an "OA" suffix. |
| Petition for review | A petition asking the Supreme Court to review a decision of the Court of Appeals. |
| Petition for writ (Supervisory, Mandamus, Prohibition or Habeas Corpus) | A petition asking the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court to exercise its supervisory jurisdiction over another court. This case type is identified by a "W" or "WSCCA" suffix. |
| Petition to bypass | A petition asking the Supreme Court to take jurisdiction of an appeal pending in the Court of Appeals before the Court of Appeals issues a decision. |
| PDC | Abbreviation for "Public Domain Citation." |
| Pre-appeal motion (XX motion) | A motion filed with the Court of Appeals before an appeal is started (e.g., a motion to extend the time to file a notice of appeal). These motions are assigned an "XX" case number. These motions will have a status of OP if there is a pending motion, and CL if there is no pending motion. |
| Public domain citation | Effective January 1, 2000, a number assigned to all published opinions, rules, orders, or other items issued by the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals. |
| RAP | Abbreviation for "Rules of Appellate Procedure" (Chapter 809 of the Wisconsin Statutes). |
| Pending petition for review (RE) | A case status indicating a petition for review of a Court of Appeals decision has been filed with the Supreme Court. |
| Record | All the papers filed in the circuit court for a specific case. The record is sent to the Court of Appeals after an appeal is initiated. |
| RECV | Indicates that a filing (e.g., a motion) has been received and is under consideration by the court. |
| Respondent | A party who responds to an appeal or petition filed by an appellant or petitioner. |
| Remanded (RM) | A case status indicating the case has been sent back ("remanded") from a higher court to a lower court for further action. The appellate case may remain open while the lower court completes the required action. |
| Remittitur | A document issued when the case record is returned to the circuit court, which includes a statement about the appellate court's decision. |
| Reopened (RO) | A case status indicating a previously closed case has been made active again. Cases can be reopened for a variety of reasons. |
| Statement on transcript | A statement filed by an appellant or cross-appellant notifying the court which transcripts have been ordered for the appeal. |
| Status | Information on the current stage of a case, such as whether it is pending, a decision has been issued, or the case is closed. |
| SRT | Abbreviation for "Statement on Transcript." |
| Suffix |
Identifiers added to the appeal number to indicate case type:
|
| XX Motion | See Pre-appeal motion. |
Contact the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
Comments, suggestions, and questions regarding WSCCA are welcome. Please note all comments and suggestions will be reviewed, but a personal response to all submissions may not be possible. Please feel free to contact the Clerk's Office for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals by calling 608-266-1880 or using the form located on the WSCCA site.
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