Questions? Ask a Librarian

Wisconsin Law

Skip to related topics, library resources, and law review articles

Wisconsin Court System

• WI Court System
• WI Supreme Court
• WI Court of Appeals
• WI Circuit Courts
• WI Municipal Courts
• Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee Opinions
• WI Court Structure Chart (National Center for State Courts)

Wisconsin Circuit Courts

• Case Classification Codes
• Circuit Court Forms
• Circuit Court Records (Wisconsin Circuit Court Access)
• Circuit Court Rules
• County Resources (WI State Law Library)
• Uniform Rules for Trial Court Administration

Wisconsin Court of Appeals

• Opinions June 1995- (WI Court of Appeals)
• Opinions 1995- (State Bar of WI)
• Opinions (Google Scholar) 1978-
• Opinions, WI State Public Defender
  • On Point Case Summaries (2010-)
    
    
• Briefs 173 Wis.2d- (UW Law Library)
• Briefs July 1, 2009- (WI Court System)
  
  
• Court Records (Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Case Access)
  
• Oral Arguments
• Internal Operating Procedures

Wisconsin Supreme Court

• Opinions Sept. 1995- (WI Supreme Court)
• Opinions 1995- (State Bar of WI)
• Opinions (Google Scholar) 1950-
• Opinions, WI State Public Defender
  • On Point Case Summaries (2010-)
    
    
• Briefs 173 Wis.2d-
  
  
• Court Records (Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Case Access)
• Oral Arguments
• Wisconsin Eye
  Video coverage of oral arguments.
• Pending Cases
  Includes issue(s), date accepted, where case originated, etc.
• Court Rules
• Court Orders & Pending Rules Petitions
• Internal Operating Procedures

Federal Courts in Wisconsin

• 7th Circuit
  Access opinions, briefs & examples of briefs, federal & local rules, court calendar, Practitioners Handbook, Pattern Criminal Jury Instructions, Standards for Professional Conduct, etc.
• Western District (WI)
• Western District (WI) Bankruptcy Court
• Eastern District (WI)
• Eastern District (WI) Bankruptcy Court

• PACER $
  Obtain case & docket information from federal circuit, district, and bankruptcy courts. Docket information includes a claims registry, a listing of parties & participants in the case, information about the suit & dollar demand, a chronology of case events, case status, types of documents filed for certain cases, judgments, and appellate court opinions. Search PACER by specific court or use the U.S. Party/Case Index

Wisconsin Legislative Branch

• Statutes
  • Current
  • Archive 1969/70-
• Acts
  • Current
• Archive 1957/58-
• Budget: 2001; 2002; 2003; 2005; 2007; 2009; Budget Repair Bill & 2011-2013
• Act Memos (WI Legislative Council)
• Legislative Drafting Records
  • Browse (WI Legislature)
  • Search (Univ. WI Law Library)
• Constitution
  • Constitution
  • Making of the Wisconsin Constitution (Wisconsin Lawyer)
    
• Rules
  • Assembly Rules
  • Senate Rules
  • Joint Rules
  • Robert's Rules of Order
• WI Legislature
  Access bills and bill histories, joint resolutions, legislative session calendars, committee information, audio and video of floor sessions, etc.
• Wisconsin Eye
  Video coverage of legislative sessions and meetings.
• Legislative Council
• Legislative Reference Bureau
  • Amending the Constitution in Wisconsin
  • Legislative Process in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Executive Branch

• Administrative Code & Register
  • Clearinghouse Rules - Final Rule Orders (1996- )
  • Enrolled Commercial Building Code (current)
  • Pre-July 1, 2002 Building Codes (not current)
  • Replaced (Archived) Pages (Register #541 and earlier)
• Executive Orders
  • Executive Orders 1965-
    Provides brief summary of order. Arranged chronologically.
  • Executive Orders (WI Office of Governor)
  • Executive Orders Subject Guide: January 1965 - December 13, 2010
    Full-text of executive orders is available from this library.
    
• Attorney General Opinions
  • Formal v. 71, 1982-
  • Formal & Informal 2007-
• Agency Decisions
  • Division of Hearings & Appeals Decisions
    Issued for Dept. of Transportation, Dept. of Natural Resources, Medicaid Divestment, MA Resource Allocation, Crime Victim Compensation, Dept. of Employee Trust Funds, Dept. of Public Instruction
  • Labor & Industry Review Comm. Decisions
    LIRC decides cases involving: Unemployment Insurance; Worker's Compensation; Equal Rights
  • Personnel Commission Digest of Decisions 1978-1999
  • Public Service Commission Electronic Regulatory Filing System
    Orders, Notices, etc.
  • Safety & Professional Services Decisions
  • Tax Appeals Commission Decisions 1999-
    Decisions are indexed by case name, petitioner, date, and category/topic.
  • Unemployment Insurance Division Decisions (Dept. of Workforce Development)
  • WERC (WI Employment Relations Commission) Cases & Digests
    Includes Decisions, Digests, Grievance Awards & Interest Awards
  • WI Government Accountability Board Decisions
    Includes State Elections Board, State Ethics Board decisions; campaign finance, candidates, ethics, and lobbying opinions.
• International Codes (International Code Council)
  International Building Code, International Existing Building Code, International Energy Conservation Code, International Fire Code, International Fuel Gas Code, International Mechanical Code, International Plumbing Code, International Private Sewage Code, International Zoning Code & more
• Codebooks Digests (WI Dept. of Safety & Professional Services)
  Provides links to Codebooks, WI Statutes & WI Administrative Code. Browse DRL regulated occupation.
• WI State Agencies
• Governor's Office

Wisconsin State Government

• Wisconsin.gov
• Wisconsin Blue Book
  • Current
  • Archive 1853-

Wisconsin Local Government

• Codes & Ordinances (WI State Law Library)
• County Resources (WI State Law Library)
  Agencies, legal assistance organizations, forms, guides, ordinances and court rules, arranged by county.
• Directories
  • WI County Directory (select: County Directory on upper left)
  • WI Local Government Directories (WI State Law Library)
  • WI Municipal/County Listing
• Forms
  • Wisconsin Town Law Forms
    Each form numbered according to the statute section to which it applies
• League of Wisconsin Municipalities
  • Legal FAQs provide answers to numerous questions related to municipal law for topics such as: contracts, elections, employees, intoxicating liquors, open meetings, public records, zoning, etc.
  • Comments, Notes & Opinions written by League attorneys are arranged by topic.
• Public Legal Notices
  • Wisconsin
    • Public Legal Notices (WI Newspaper Association)
    • Public Legal Notices (Wisconsin.gov)
    • WI Statutes: ch. 985 "Publication of Legal Notices; Public Newspapers; Fees"
  • General
    • Public Notice Center
• WI Counties
• Dane Co.
• Milwaukee Co.
• WI Cities, Towns, Villages
• Madison
• Milwaukee
• Wisconsin Counties Association
• Wisconsin Towns Association

State Bar of Wisconsin

• Ethics Opinions
• LegalExplorer (Consumer Law Home Page)
• WisBar (Home Page)