(1) DECLARATION OF POLICY. By enacting this rule, the supreme court intends to better protect the privacy and dignity interests of crime victims. It requires appellate briefs, petitions for review, and responses to petitions for review to identify crime victims by use of identifiers, as specified in sub. (4), unless there is good cause for noncompliance. The rule protects the identity of victims in appellate briefs, petitions for review, and responses to petitions for review that the courts make available online.
809.86.Rule (Identification of victims and others in briefing, petitions for review, and responses to petitions for review).
Ch. 809: Rules of Appellate Procedure · Last amended 2020 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 809.86 requires appellate briefs, petitions for review, and responses to petitions for review in specified criminal, juvenile, mental commitment, and sexually violent person cases to identify crime victims only by initials or another pseudonym, absent good cause, so their names do not appear in documents the courts post online.
Full Text of Section 809.86
(2) APPLICABILITY. This section applies to appeals in the following types of cases:
(a) Section 971.17 proceedings.
(b) Criminal cases.
(c) Chapter 938 cases.
(d) Chapter 980 cases.
(e) Certiorari review of decisions or orders entered by the department of corrections, the department of health services, or the parole commission in a proceeding or case specified in pars. (a) to (d).
(f) Collateral challenges to judgments or orders entered in a proceeding or case specified in pars. (a) to (e).
(3) DEFINITION. In this section, “victim” means a natural person against whom a crime, other than a homicide, has been committed or alleged to have been committed in the appeal or proceeding. “Victim” does not include the person convicted of or alleged to have committed a crime at issue in the appeal or proceeding.
(4) BRIEFS, PETITIONS FOR REVIEW, AND RESPONSES TO PETITIONS FOR REVIEW. In an appeal specified under sub. (2), the briefs of the parties, petitions for review, and responses to peti- tions for review shall not, without good cause, identify a victim by any part of his or her name but may identify a victim by one or more initials or other appropriate pseudonym or designation.
(5) PROTECTIVE ORDER. For good cause, the court may make any order necessary to protect the identity of a victim or other person, or to excuse compliance with this section.
Official Notes
NOTE: Sup. Ct. Order No. 14-01 states, “The Judicial Council Note to Wis. Stat. § (RULE) 809.86 is not adopted, but will be published and may be consulted for guidance in interpreting and applying the rule.”
Judicial Council Note, 2015: Proposed s. 809.86 addresses victim privacy concerns that result from public access to searchable documents posted on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals access website. The proposed rule is intended to protect victims’ constitutional and statutory rights to be treated with fairness, dignity, courtesy, sensitivity, and respect for their privacy. See Wis. Const. Article I, section 9m; Wis. Stat., s. 950.01. Specifically, the rule protects the identity of victims in appellate briefs that the courts make available online. The rule does not extend to other appellate filings, including appendices, because these documents are not currently posted electronically. The proposed rule is not a rule of confidentiality or privilege. It is not intended to limit a defendant’s right to a public trial, to limit the availability of any potential appellate argument or remedy, or to affect laws regarding public records or open court records that are available in the clerks of courts offices. The rule is intended to address only matters in which the state has alleged or proved that a party in the appeal or proceeding has committed criminal conduct against one or more victims in the matter. Accordingly, sub. (2) is limited to matters in which victims of crime are most frequently referenced and identified as victims or alleged victims. Subsection (3) provides a definition of a “victim” that includes an alleged victim. In some appeals, a party’s position will be that there was in fact no victimization, and nothing in this proposed rule is intended to limit arguments to that effect. The privacy issues addressed by the rule do not extend to a deceased victim in the same manner. Therefore, subsection (3) permits the victim of a homicide to be recognized in an appellate brief. Subsection (4) prohibits the use of any part of a victim or alleged victim’s name except initials. Subsection (4) does not prescribe or limit the use of other pseudonyms for victims, as long as they maintain sensitivity and respect for victims. Subsection (5) allows an appellate court to make any necessary order to further protect the identity of victims or to protect the identity of other persons not otherwise covered by the rule. It also allows the court to excuse compliance with this section.
Comment, 2020: By S. Ct. Order 19-19, 2020 WI 6 (issued Jan. 29, 2020, eff. July 1, 2020) the court extended the privacy protections of this rule to petitions for review and responses to petitions for review, so that they may be posted on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals case access website, along with appellate briefs, in a manner that respects victim privacy concerns.
Plain-English Summary
Section 809.86 opens by declaring its purpose: protecting the privacy and dignity interests of crime victims in appellate documents the courts make available online. It requires briefs, petitions for review, and responses to petitions for review to identify a victim through an initial or pseudonym rather than a name, unless there is good cause not to.
The rule applies to a defined set of cases: Section 971.17 proceedings, criminal cases, Chapter 938 (juvenile) cases, Chapter 980 (sexually violent person) cases, certiorari review of decisions by the department of corrections, the department of health services, or the parole commission arising out of those matters, and collateral challenges to judgments or orders entered in any of them. Within that scope, a “victim” means a natural person against whom a crime, other than a homicide, has been committed or is alleged to have been committed in the appeal or proceeding; the person convicted of or alleged to have committed the crime does not count as a victim under this definition.
The operative requirement in Section 809.86(4) is plain: briefs, petitions for review, and responses to petitions for review must not, without good cause, identify a victim by any part of the victim’s name, but may use one or more initials or another appropriate pseudonym or designation instead. And Section 809.86(5) leaves room for more, or less, protection than the default rule provides -- for good cause, the court may enter any order necessary to protect the identity of a victim or another person, or to excuse compliance with the section altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Wisconsin appeals require the victim-identification protection in Section 809.86?
Section 971.17 proceedings, criminal cases, Chapter 938 cases, Chapter 980 cases, certain certiorari reviews of decisions by the department of corrections, the department of health services, or the parole commission in those matters, and collateral challenges to judgments or orders entered in any of them.
Who counts as a “victim” under Section 809.86?
A natural person against whom a crime, other than a homicide, has been committed or is alleged to have been committed in the appeal or proceeding; it does not include the person convicted of or alleged to have committed that crime.
Can a homicide victim be named in a brief under this rule?
The definition of “victim” in Section 809.86(3) specifically excludes homicide, so this identification requirement does not extend to a homicide victim’s name.
How should a victim be referred to in a brief filed under this section?
By one or more initials or another appropriate pseudonym or designation, not by any part of the victim’s name, absent good cause.
Can a court require more protection than this rule provides, or excuse compliance with it?
Yes. Section 809.86(5) lets the court, for good cause, make any order necessary to protect a victim’s or other person’s identity, or to excuse compliance with the section.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order No. 14-01, 2015 WI 21, filed 3-2-15, eff. 7-1-15; 2017 a. 365 s. 111; Sup. Ct. Order No. 19-19, 2020 WI 6, 390 Wis. 2d xiii.
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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