Ch. 808: Appeals and Writs of Error · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 808.075 defines exactly which actions a circuit court may still take after an appeal has started, generally losing broad authority once the notice of appeal is filed or the record is transmitted but keeping power over a detailed list of specific matters, especially in family, juvenile, mental health, and probate cases, with a process for the appellate court to remand issues back to it.
(1)In any case, whether or not an appeal is pending, the circuit court may act under ss. 801.18 (16), 804.02 (2), 805.15, 805.16, 805.17 (3), 806.07, 806.08, 806.15 (2), 806.24 (4), 808.07 (1) and (2), and 809.12.
(2)In a case appealed under s. 809.30, the circuit court retains the power to act on all issues until the notice of appeal has been filed with the clerk of the circuit court, except that the circuit court may not act upon any motion to extend a time limit that is specified in s. 809.30. Thereafter, the circuit court may act only as provided in subs. (1) and (4).
(3)In a case not appealed under s. 809.30, the circuit court retains the power to act on all issues until the record has been transmitted to the court of appeals. Thereafter, the circuit court may act only as provided in subs. (1) and (4).
(4)The circuit court may act as to the following despite the pendency of an appeal:
(a)In a case under ch. 48: 1. Review of actions by a guardian under s. 48.023. 2. Review of nonsecure custody orders under s. 48.207. 3. Review of secure detention orders under s. 48.208 and secure detention status reviews under s. 48.209 (1) (e). 4. Hearing for child held in custody under s. 48.21 or an adult expectant mother of an unborn child held in custody under s. 48.213. 5. Hearing upon involuntary removal under s. 48.305. 6. Revision of dispositional order under s. 48.363. 7. Extension of dispositional order under s. 48.365, unless s. 48.368 applies. 8. Review of permanency plan under s. 48.38 (5). 9. Release of confidential information under s. 48.396 or 48.78. 9m. Review of the conduct of a guardian under s. 48.9795 (10). 10. Revision of guardianship order under s. 48.977 (6). 11. Termination of guardianship under s. 48.977 (7) or 48.9795 (11), including removal of a guardian. 12. Rescission of a guardianship order under s. 48.978 (2) (L) 4., (m) 2. or (n) or (3) (d) 3. or 4., (j) 2. or 3. or (k) 2. or 3. 13. Appointment of a successor guardian under s. 48.9795 (8). 14. Order for visitation under s. 48.9795 (12).
(b)In a case under ch. 51: 1. Disposition, modification and extension of commitment under s. 51.20 (13). 2. Reexamination of commitment under s. 51.20 (16). 3. Enforcement of patient rights under s. 51.61.
4. Commitment, conditional release, recommitment and discharge under s. 971.17 of a person found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
(c)In a case under ch. 55: 1. Protective placement review under s. 55.18, modification under s. 55.16, or termination under s. 55.17. 2. Hearing required upon transfer under s. 55.15. 3. Enforcement of patient’s rights under s. 55.23. (d) In a case under ch. 767: 1. Revision of orders for legal custody or periods of physical placement under s. 767.41, 767.451, 767.461, or 767.481. 2. Issuance or modification of orders for visitation rights under s. 767.43. 3. Annual adjustment of child or family support under s. 767.553. 4. Revision of judgment or order for child support, maintenance payments or family support payments under s. 767.59 or 767.89. 5. Order for temporary maintenance, temporary child support or for suit money, counsel fees and disbursements in the appellate court under s. 767.273. 6. Property division, where the court has expressly or impliedly reserved jurisdiction, provided the court does not revise or modify its final division of property. 7. Vacation or modification of judgment under s. 767.35 (6). 8. Revocation of judgment under s. 767.35 (7). 9. Enforcement of payments under s. 767.77, 767.804 (3), 767.805 (4), or 767.89. 10. Enforcement of orders under s. 767.78, 767.804 (3), 767.805 (4), or 767.89. 11. Enforcement or modification of assignments under s. 767.513 or 767.75. 12. Enforcement or modification of account transfers under s. 767.76. 13. Determination of charges and issuance of repayment orders under s. 767.71. (e) In a case under chs. 701 or 853 to 879, any matter, unless the appellate court directs the trial court not to act on specific issues or the trial court declines to act because the matter directly affects the issues on appeal. (f) In a case under ch. 54: 1. Review a bond under s. 54.46 (4) or 54.852 (9). 2. Release of deposited funds under s. 54.46 (4) (b) 3. 4. Appointment of successor guardian under s. 54.54 (1). 5. Approval of guardian’s exercise of marital property rights under s. 54.20 (2) (h). 6. Approval of management of property under s. 54.19 or 54.20. 7. Direction for use of estate for benefit of wards under s. 54.19 (4). 8. Examination of annual accounts and assets under ss. 54.62 and 54.66. 9. Removal of guardian under s. 54.68 (4) (d). 10. Determination of petitions for instructions to guardian. 11. Termination of guardianship under s. 54.64. 12. Restoration of specific legal rights under s. 54.64 (2) (c). 13. Authorization of purchase of a home for a ward under s. 54.852 (15) (a). (fn) In a case under ch. 938: 2. Review of nonsecure custody orders under s. 938.207.
3. Review of secure detention orders under s. 938.208 and secure detention status reviews under s. 938.209 (1) (a) 5. 4. Hearing for juvenile held in custody under s. 938.21. 5. Hearing upon involuntary removal under s. 938.305. 6. Revision of dispositional order under s. 938.363. 7. Extension of dispositional order under s. 938.365, unless s. 938.368 applies. 8. Review of permanency plan under s. 938.38 (5). 9. Release of confidential information under s. 938.396 or 938.78. (g) In a criminal case: 1. Release on bond under s. 809.31 or 969.01 (2). 2. Modification or revocation of bond under s. 969.01 (2) (e) or 969.08. 3. Imposition of sentence upon revocation of probation under s. 973.10 (2) (a). 4. Determination of sentence credit under s. 973.155. 5. Modification of a condition of probation or extension of probationary term under s. 973.09 (3) (a). 6. Modification of sentence. 7. Commitment, conditional release, recommitment and discharge under s. 971.17 of a person found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. (h) Commitment, supervised release, recommitment, discharge, and postcommitment relief under s. 980.10, 2003 stats., or ss. 980.06, 980.08, 980.09 (4), and 980.101 of a person found to be a sexually violent person under ch. 980.
(5)Notwithstanding the limitations of this section, any party may petition the appellate court for remand to the circuit court for action upon specific issues.
(6)In addition to sub. (5), the appellate court may remand the record to the circuit court for additional proceedings while the appeal is pending.
(7)Upon completion of an action taken by the circuit court under sub. (1), (4), (5) or (6) of this section, the clerk shall send a copy of the judgment or order to the appellate court.
(8)If an appellate court remands the record to the circuit court for additional proceedings under sub. (5) or (6), the appellate court, in the pending appeal, may review the judgment or order that the circuit court enters following remand. If any party is aggrieved by the judgment or order of the circuit court, the party shall file in the appellate court a written statement of objections to the judgment or order within 14 days after the record is returned to the clerk of the appellate court. A party that files a statement of objections need not file an additional notice of appeal or cross-appeal.
Official Notes
Judicial Council Note, 1988: In re Marriage of Hengel v. Hengel, 120 Wis. 2d 522, 355 N. W. 2d 846 (Ct. App. 1984), the court of appeals held that since there is no specific statutory exception, the trial court had no competence to enter an order requiring the husband to contribute to his wife’s attorney’s fees for representation in the trial court after a notice of appeal had been filed. Section 808.075 is created to specify the actions that may be taken in circuit court after a notice of appeal has been filed in cases appealed under s. 809.30 and after transmittal of the record to an appellate court in other cases.
Matters affecting trusts and estates have historically been treated as a series of special proceedings, and the trial court is charged with ongoing supervision and administrative duties affecting such matters. Because of the ongoing involvement of the trial court, sub. (4) (e) reserves full competence to act, unless it is determined that competence should be restricted as to specific issues. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1989]
Judicial Council Note, 2001: The second sentence in sub. (2) is a codification of State v. Harris, 149 Wis. 2d 943, 440 N.W.2d 364 (1989). Subsection (8) is intended to clarify procedure following a remand and to eliminate an additional notice of appeal or cross-appeal. The obligations of a person filing a statement of objec-
tions are the same as those of a cross-appellant. [Re Order No. 00-02 effective July 1, 2001]
Plain-English Summary
Once an appeal begins, whose court is in charge? Section 808.075 answers that by drawing a firm line. In a case appealed under section 809.30, the circuit court keeps full authority over every issue until the notice of appeal is filed with the clerk of circuit court — after that, its authority narrows to the specific matters this section lists. In a case not appealed under section 809.30, that same narrowing happens once the record is transmitted to the court of appeals rather than when the notice is filed.
What survives that narrowing is a long, specific list, organized by subject: certain circuit court powers under sections 801.18(16), 804.02(2), 805.15 through 805.17(3), 806.07, 806.08, 806.15(2), 806.24(4), 808.07(1) and (2), and 809.12; and, in subsection (4), a detailed catalog of actions the circuit court may still take in guardianship and protective placement cases under chapter 48, mental commitment cases under chapter 51, protective placement cases under chapter 55, family cases under chapter 767, probate and trust matters under chapters 701 and 853 to 879, guardianship cases under chapter 54, juvenile cases under chapter 938, criminal cases, and chapter 980 sexually violent person commitments. The scope of that list reflects how much ongoing supervision these kinds of cases typically need, appeal or no appeal.
The section also builds in flexibility for anything not on the list. Any party can petition the appellate court to remand specific issues back to the circuit court, and the appellate court can do so on its own for additional proceedings while the appeal remains pending. Once the circuit court acts under any of these paths, the clerk sends the appellate court a copy of the resulting judgment or order, and if a party is unhappy with what the circuit court did on remand, that party files a written statement of objections in the appellate court within 14 days, without needing a separate notice of appeal or cross-appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once I file a notice of appeal, does the circuit court lose all power over my case?
Not all power, but its authority narrows. In a case appealed under section 809.30, the circuit court retains power over all issues until the notice of appeal is filed with the clerk of circuit court; after that, it may act only as provided in subsections (1) and (4).
Can the circuit court still modify a child support order while a family case is on appeal?
Yes. Section 808.075(4)(d) lists revision of judgments or orders for child support, maintenance, or family support payments under sections 767.59 or 767.89 among the actions the circuit court may still take despite the pendency of an appeal.
Can a party ask the appellate court to send an issue back to the circuit court during an appeal?
Yes. Under section 808.075(5), any party may petition the appellate court for remand to the circuit court for action on specific issues.
If the circuit court acts on remand, do I need to file a new notice of appeal to challenge it?
No. A party aggrieved by the circuit court’s judgment or order on remand files a written statement of objections in the appellate court within 14 days after the record is returned, without filing an additional notice of appeal or cross-appeal.
Does the circuit court retain power over probate matters during an appeal?
Generally yes. Section 808.075(4)(e) lets the circuit court act on any matter in a case under chapter 701 or chapters 853 to 879, unless the appellate court directs it not to act on specific issues or the circuit court declines because the matter directly affects the issues on appeal.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 146 Wis. 2d xiii (1988); 1989 a. 86; 1993 a. 16, 446, 479, 481; 1995 a. 38, 73, 77, 275; 1997 a. 35, 191, 292, 296, 334; 1999 a. 9; Sup. Ct. Order No. 00-02, 2001 WI 39, 242 Wis. 2d xxvii; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 264, 387, 434; 2005 a. 443 ss. 263, 265; Sup. Ct. Order No. 14-03, 2016 WI 29, 368 Wis. 2d xiii; 2017 a. 365 s. 111; 2019 a. 95, 109; 2021 a. 238 ss. 44, 45; 2021 a. 240 s. 30.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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