Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Wisconsin

De Novo reviews, at least in Racine County, apply only to rulings by Court Commissioners who are not judges. These allow you to have a judge take a fresh look at the commissioner's ruling. They usually need to be filed very quickly (5-10 days?) here, although I am not familiar with local rules in Green Lake County, which may be different. They are not allowed in every type of case, but rather only in cases with this specific history. There are other rights to appeal the rulings of a real judge to a higher judge at the WI State Court of Appeals, however, and this might be what you are asking about, but is prohibitively expensive in minor traffic cases. Short of that, and within a relatively brief timeframe, you can also ask a judge to reconsider his own rulings, but that would normally not allow you to introduce any new evidence. Any time that you are having a trial or other formal contested hearing in court, you therefore need to assume that it is your one and only "kick at the cat" for achieving justice, and make sure that all of your witnesses and evidence are available properly introduced immediately, at the first hearing, since that is usually the only chance you will get. You urgently need to discuss this matter further with an experienced criminal or traffic lawyer, since you may not have much time t all to change the outcome. Even minor violations in WI can lead to loss of your license, so you should always try to get the very best outcome possible, even if you do not yet have point problems, since you never know what the future holds for you. Even minor violations can also sometimes propel you into an expensive high risk insurance category. My answer here does not make me your lawyer, so you need to consult one of your own before acting upon this. For further discussions, you may contact my office at 333 Main St, Racine, WI 53403, 262-633-3090, during business hours, or see me on the web at www.jayknixonlaw.com. See over 15 years of my previous answers to consumer questions at http://www.lawguru.com/answers/atty_profile/view_attorney_profile/jknixon. Attorney answers may contain advertising materials.