SB 679

Under current law, a final judgment or a final order of a circuit court may

generally be appealed to the court of appeals. Under current law, a judgment or order

of a circuit court in a traffic forfeiture or a municipal ordinance case is considered

final when it disposes of the entire matter in litigation as to one or more of the parties,

and is either reduced to writing and filed with the circuit court or, after the matter

is prosecuted in circuit court, recorded in a docket entry.

In

Village of McFarland v. Zetzman

, 2012 WI App 49, the court of appeals held

that in a traffic forfeiture case or other municipal ordinance case, for the purpose of

determining whether a matter may be appealed, the matter may be considered

"prosecuted in circuit court" if the matter was initially heard in municipal court and

subsequently reviewed by the circuit court.

This bill clarifies the language in current law to conform with the

Zetzman

decision.