The
Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate
appellate court which reviews contested decisions of the
Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appellate cases. Published Court of Appeals opinions are considered
binding precedent until overruled by the Supreme Court; unpublished opinions are not. The Court hears most appeals in three-judge panels, but appeals of circuit court decisions in misdemeanor, small claims, and municipal ordinance cases are decided by a single judge.