Appellate eFiling becomes mandatory on Thursday.

Byline: Michaela Paukner, mpaukner@wislawjournal.com

Electronic filing in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals will become mandatory on Thursday.

As of July 1, all new cases and documents in pending cases must be filed through the appellate eFiling system, according to the Court of Appeals website. Attorneys with pending cases will be automatically opted in by Thursday.

Appellate eFiling, associated rule changes start July 1

eFiling allows attorneys to file documents in the Court of Appeals without having to arrange delivery or travel to the clerk's office in Madison.The appellate eFiling system has the same look and feel as the circuit court eFiling system. Attorneys will use the same log-in information to access appellate eFiling, and they can toggle between the two systems.

In April, the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved a rule petition to make e-filing mandatory in the appellate courts starting on July 1. The orderalsomade a number of changes to the Rules of Appellate Procedure, Wis. Stat. Ch. 809, including these revisions highlighted by the appellate courts:

The notice of appeal, docketing statement and statement on transcript are served electronically using the circuit court eFiling system.

Duplicate filings in the circuit courts and Court of Appeals are eliminated.

The record on appeal will use the circuit-court document numbers.

Printing and service of briefs and appendices are eliminated, except for copies served on self-represented parties.

Current requirements for document appearanceare updated (See page 48 of the state Supreme Court order).

The certifications for briefs and appendices may be electronically signed as a single document.

Electronic briefs may include bookmarks and hyperlinks for the convenience of the court.

There is no additional eFiling fee for appellate eFiling.

Court of Appeals 'realizing benefits' of eFiling

Appellate e-filing began as a pilot program in District IV in 2019.Since then, the office of the Clerk of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and CCAP have worked with judges, attorneys and other court staff to develop and refine the...