809.71 Rule (Supervisory writ). A person may request the supreme court to exercise its supervisory jurisdiction over a court and the judge presiding therein or other person or body by filing a petition in accordance with s. 809.51. A person seeking a supervisory writ from the supreme court shall first file a petition for a supervisory writ in the court of appeals under s. 809.51 unless it is impractical to seek the writ in the court of appeals. A petition in the supreme court shall show why it was impractical to seek the writ in the court of appeals or, if a petition had been filed in the court of appeals, the disposition made and reasons given by the court of appeals.

History: Sup. Ct. Order, 83 Wis. 2d xiii (1978); Sup. Ct. Order, 104 Wis. 2d xi (1981); 1981 c. 390 s. 252.

Judicial Council Committee's Note, 1981: The supreme court will not exercise its supervisory jurisdiction where there is an adequate alternative remedy. Unless the court of appeals is itself the object of the supervisory writ, usually there is an adequate alternative remedy of applying to the court of appeals under Rule 809.51 for the supervisory writ. The amendment to Rule 809.71 establishes that before a person may request the supreme court to exercise its supervisory jurisdiction, the person must first seek the supervisory writ in the court of appeals, unless to do so is impractical. Following the decision of the court of appeals, the amendment does not preclude the supreme court from considering a petition for review under Rule 809.62 or a petition for supervisory writ under Rule 809.71, depending upon the circumstances and the petitioner's ability to establish the respective governing criteria. [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1982]

A party requesting a supervisory writ under this section must demonstrate that: 1) an appeal is an inadequate remedy; 2) grave hardship or irreparable harm will result; 3) the duty of the trial court is plain, and it acted or intends to act in violation of that duty; and 4) the request for relief is made promptly and speedily. DNR v. Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV, 2018 WI 25, 380 Wis. 2d 354, 909 N.W.2d 114, 16-1980.

The term “supervisory writ" is both: 1) the general term used in petitioning the court of appeals to exercise its constitutional supervisory authority and in petitioning the supreme court to exercise its constitutional superintending authority; and 2) a new writ the supreme court devised independent of the traditional common law writs. State ex rel. CityDeck Landing LLC v. Circuit Court for Brown County, 2019 WI 15, 385 Wis. 2d 516, 922 N.W.2d 832, 18-0291.

When the circuit court in this case ordered the arbitration of a private dispute stayed until the court could decide an insurance coverage dispute, the plaintiff fulfilled all four criteria for the supreme court to issue a supervisory writ under this section. State ex rel. CityDeck Landing LLC v. Circuit Court for Brown County, 2019 WI 15, 385 Wis. 2d 516, 922 N.W.2d 832, 18-0291.