Judicial notice is a court’s acceptance of a well-known and indisputable fact without requiring the party relying on the fact to prove it. The doctrine of judicial notice is one of common sense, and is based on the theory that where a fact is well-known in the community—or its existence is easily determined from sources that cannot be reasonably questioned—it would not be a good use of judicial time and resources to require formal proof of the fact in court. A court may take judicial notice of both facts and laws.

In Wisconsin, the concept of judicial notice is governed by Wisconsin Statutes and case law. Judicial notice allows a court to recognize and accept certain facts that are commonly known within the jurisdiction or can be verified from unquestionable sources, without requiring formal proof. This includes both adjudicative facts—those that are typically the subject of proof with evidence—and legislative facts—broad facts that help in the interpretation of laws. Wisconsin Statute § 902.01 outlines the provisions for judicial notice of adjudicative facts, stating that a court must take judicial notice if requested by a party and supplied with the necessary information. Additionally, under § 902.01(2), courts may take judicial notice, whether requested or not. For legislative facts, courts have discretion to recognize facts that are not subject to reasonable dispute because they are generally known or can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. The use of judicial notice streamlines legal proceedings by avoiding the need to prove facts that are already beyond dispute.