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The Court of Appeals considers all cases appealed to it and will either: Review the case, using the transcripts of the circuit court proceedings, sometimes supplemented with oral argument. The Court of Appeals will rule in favor of one party. Certify the question to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, the state's highest court, consists of seven justices who are elected to 10-year terms in statewide nonpartisan elections. As Wisconsin's court of last resort, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over all Wisconsin courts and has discretion to determine which appeals it will hear.

The Court typically will agree to hear a case only when it involves an unusually important legal principle, or when two or more federal appellate courts have interpreted a law differently. There are also a small number of special circumstances in which the Supreme Court is required by law to hear an appeal.

It takes the vote of at least three justices to take a case on a Petition for Review. The losing party may file a Petition to Bypass, asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, bypassing the Court of Appeals. It takes a vote of at least four justices to take a case on Petition by Bypass.

Typically, the Court hears cases that have been decided in either an appropriate U.S. Court of Appeals or the highest Court in a given state (if the state court decided a Constitutional issue). The Supreme Court has its own set of rules. ing to these rules, four of the nine Justices must vote to accept a case.

The losing party in the Court of Appeals case may ask the Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear the case. This is called a Petition for Review. The Supreme Court receives about 800 petitions for review each term, and agrees to hear approximately 65 of these cases.

For administrative purposes, the circuit courts are divided into nine judicial administrative districts.

Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) Steering Committee. CCAP is responsible for supporting the IT needs of the entire Wisconsin Court System.