809.41.Rule (Motion for 3-judge panel or hearing in county of origin).
Ch. 809: Rules of Appellate Procedure · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 15, 2026
Full Text of Section 809.41
Official Notes
Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1979: Sub. (3) is created to clarify that the chief judge of the Court of Appeals has the authority to order that an appeal be decided by a 3-judge panel after it has initially been assigned to a single Court of Appeals judge. This authority of the chief judge may be exercised at any time prior to a decision on the merits of the appeal by the single Court of Appeals judge to whom the appeal was originally assigned. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1980]
Judicial Council Committee’s Note, 1981: Rule 809.41 is amended to harmonize with ch. 192, Laws of 1979. Sub. (1) is amended to apply the procedure for requesting a 3-judge panel for appeals to other proceedings in the types of case specified in s. 752.31 (2). The rule is also amended to require that if the motion for 3-judge panel is in a case in which the state is a party the motion must be served upon the attorney general as well as all persons of record. If the district attorney files the motion for 3-judge panel, the district attorney must serve the motion on the attorney general. The attorney general is given 7 days to respond to the motion. The rule is further amended to require that the motion for 3-judge panel be filed with the copy of the notice of appeal required to be sent to the clerk of the court of appeals under Rule 809.10 (1) (a) and not with the original notice of appeal filed with the clerk of the circuit court. Subs. (2) and (3) are amended to clarify that their provisions may apply to both an appeal and a petition requesting the exercise of supervisory jurisdiction or original jurisdiction to issue a prerogative writ. Section 752.31, as amended by ch. 192, Laws of 1979, provides for a hearing in the county of origin for appeals but not for other proceedings such as a petition for supervisory writ or original jurisdiction prerogative writ. Sub. (4) is created to set out in a separate subsection of Rule 809.41 the procedure to request that an appeal be heard in the county where a case or action originated as authorized under sub. 752.31 (3). The creation of this separate subsection makes no substantive change in the prior procedure that was contained in Rule 809.41 (1). The rule requires that the motion for hearing in county of origin be filed with the copy of the notice of appeal required to be sent to the clerk of the court of appeals under Rule 809.10 (1) (a). Rule 809.41 is also amended to clarify that the appeal or petition is decided rather than heard, as oral argument may not occur in all matters filed in the court of appeals. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1982]
Judicial Council Note, 2001: Titles were added. The time limits in sub. (1) and sub. (4) have been changed from 7 to 11 and 10 to 14 days. See the comment to s. 808.07. [Re Order No. 00-02 effective July 1, 2001]
NOTE: Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07 states that “the Comments to the statutes created pursuant to this order are not adopted, but will be published and may be consulted for guidance in interpreting and applying the rule.”
Comment, 2021: The motions addressed by this section may accompany direct appeals, petitions for leave to appeal, petitions for writs, or original jurisdiction matters. This section provides that motions in appeals and leave to appeal proceedings will be electronically served, while supervisory writs and original jurisdiction proceedings will use traditional service. This section is reorganized to reflect the different modes of service.
Plain-English Summary
Section 809.41 gives parties a way to steer certain appeals and petitions to a three-judge panel instead of a single judge. The filing point depends on how the case arrived: an appellant files the motion with the notice of appeal, a petitioner seeking a supervisory or original-jurisdiction writ files it with the petition, and a petitioner seeking leave to appeal files it with the petition for leave to appeal. Any other party who wants a three-judge panel has 14 days after service of the notice of appeal, or must include the request with a response to a petition. Failing to file the motion waives the right to request the panel, and when the state is a party, the motion must also be served on the attorney general, who gets 11 days to respond.
That is not the last word, though. The chief judge can change or modify a decision on a three-judge-panel motion at any point before the merits are decided, and the chief judge can order a three-judge panel on the court’s own motion at any time before that decision, whether or not anyone filed a motion at all.
The final subsection covers a different kind of request: hearing the appeal in the county where the case or action originated, as allowed under Section 752.31(3). An appellant files that motion in circuit court along with the notice of appeal; any other party who wants the same thing has 14 days after service of the notice of appeal to file the request in the court of appeals. As with the three-judge-panel request, failing to file it waives the right.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a party ask that a Wisconsin appeal be decided by a three-judge panel?
It depends on how the case reached the court: an appellant files the motion with the notice of appeal, a petitioner seeking a supervisory or original-jurisdiction writ files it with that petition, and a petitioner seeking leave to appeal files it with the petition for leave to appeal.
What if I am not the appellant but want a three-judge panel?
Section 809.41(1)(d) gives any other party 14 days after service of the notice of appeal, or the time of filing a response to a petition, to file the motion in the court of appeals.
What happens if no party requests a three-judge panel?
The failure to file a motion waives the right to request that the matter be decided by a three-judge panel, though the chief judge may still order one on the court’s own motion.
Can the chief judge change an earlier decision about a three-judge panel?
Yes. Section 809.41(2) lets the chief judge change or modify that decision at any time before a decision on the merits of the appeal or petition.
How do I ask that my appeal be heard in the county where the case started?
An appellant files the motion in circuit court with the notice of appeal; any other party must file the request in the court of appeals within 14 days after service of the notice of appeal.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978); Sup. Ct. Order, 92 Wis. 2d xiii (1979); Sup. Ct. Order, 104 Wis. 2d xi (1981); Sup. Ct. Order 151 Wis. 2d xvii (1989); 1993 a. 486; Sup. Ct. Order No. 00-02, 2001 WI 39, 242 Wis. 2d xxvii; Sup. Ct. Order No. 20-07, 2021 WI 37, 397 Wis. 2d xiii.