The decision to undertake an appeal should not be made lightly. Although a loss in the trial court often emboldens litigants to seek justice at any cost, there are certain considerations that every litigant must make before investing time, money, and energy into an appeal. Paramount to these considerations is the likelihood of success on appeal.
All things equal, the chances that a Wisconsin Appeal will be successful are between 10 and 20 percent. In 2012, for example, 82% of all Wisconsin appeals, civil and criminal, were affirmed. When an appeal is affirmed, this means that the Court of Appeals is approving of what happened at the lower court level, and denying relief to the appellate.
The more meaningful answer to whether your appeal will be successful is longer and more frustrating: it depends. A myriad of factors, including the facts of the case, the legal issues on appeal, and the skill and strategy of your appellate attorney, will factor into the chances of success for your appeal.
Importantly, the low statistical chances of success on appeal should not discourage parties who adamantly wish to appeal the outcome of their case. Rather, litigants should be aware of these statistics as a reality check on their chances of success.
No one can tell you whether your case will win on appeal — no one. Litigation at all levels is a bit of a crap shoot. The best an appeals attorney can do is tell you the factors at play, and tell you their opinion of the legal issues and facts. I will comment that I have seen appeals that I was sure were going to win get denied, an appeals that I was sure stood no chance get granted. So there’s really little way to tell whether an appeal will be successful, but the more experience an appellate attorney has, the better idea she can give of whether the issue is one that at least should merit consideration.
If you are interested in having an appellate attorney assist with your Wisconsin appeal, please contact The Alderman Law Firm today for your free consultation by calling 720-588-3529 (CO) or 608-620-3529 (WI).