Make Sure to Preserve Your Appeal Rights

For practicing attorneys, it is well known that in order to preserve your right to appeal a particualr issue, you must bring that issue to the attention to the circuit court. This is called the forfeiture rule. However, pro se litigants typically are not knowledgable about the proceedural aspects of the legal system and probably wouldn’t be aware of that fact. However, application of the forfeiture rule is no different for pro se litigants. In Townsend v. Massey, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals found that one does not preserve legal arguments on appeal by simply raising a related issue at the trial court level, even if the person appealing is a pro se litigant. Because of this forfeiture rule, it is even more impotant to ensure that you have capable legal representation at the trial court and appeallate court levels. Contact our firm for assistance with all of your legal needs.