Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2026)
Mistakes and omissions; harmless error
✓ current as of July 2026
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805.18(1)(1) The court shall, in every stage of an action, disregard any error or defect in the pleadings or proceedings which shall not affect the substantial rights of the adverse party.
805.18(2)(2) No judgment shall be reversed or set aside or new trial granted in any action or proceeding on the ground of selection or misdirection of the jury, or the improper admission of evidence, or for error as to any matter of pleading or procedure, unless in the opinion of the court to which the application is made, after an examination of the entire action or proceeding, it shall appear that the error complained of has affected the substantial rights of the party seeking to reverse or set aside the judgment, or to secure a new trial.
805.18 HistoryHistory: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 714 (1975); Sup. Ct. Order No. 96-08, 207 Wis. 2d xv (1997).
805.18 AnnotationFor an error to “affect the substantial rights” of a party, there must be a reasonable possibility that the error contributed to the outcome of the action. A reasonable possibility of a different outcome is a possibility sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome. If the error at issue is not sufficient to undermine the reviewing court’s confidence in the outcome of the proceeding, the error is harmless. Evelyn C.R. v. Tykila S., 2001 WI 110, 246 Wis. 2d 1, 629 N.W.2d 768, 00-1739.
805.18 AnnotationError is harmless if it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found the defendant guilty absent the error. State v. Harvey, 2002 WI 93, 254 Wis. 2d 442, 647 N.W.2d 189, 00-0541.
805.18 AnnotationSection 971.08 (2), requiring vacation of judgment and permission to withdraw a plea in the event of improper notice of the consequences of the plea on immigration and naturalization, is subject to harmless error analysis under this section and s. 971.26. Douangmala, 2002 WI 62, was objectively wrong because it failed to properly consider the harmless error statutes, this section and s. 971.26, and is thus overruled. The mandatory “shall” in s. 971.08 (2) did not control when both of the harmless error savings statutes also use the mandatory “shall” language. This section and ss. 971.08 (2) and 971.26 are most comprehensibly harmonized by applying harmless error analysis. All of the relevant statutes use “shall,” and, accordingly, none is “more mandatory” than any other. State v. Reyes Fuerte, 2017 WI 104, 378 Wis. 2d 504, 904 N.W.2d 773, 15-2041.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 297
cases (89 in the last 5 years), 1978–2026 · leading case: State v. Lindell, 2001 WI 108 (Wis. 2001).
State v. Lindell, 2001 WI 108 (Wis. 2001). “2d 585, 714 (1976); Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (1999-2000). [7] ś 69.”
State v. Jose Alberto Reyes Fuerte, 2017 WI 104 (Wis. 2017). “(2) No judgment shall be reversed or set aside or new trial granted in any action or proceeding on the ground of selection or misdirection of the jury, or the improper admission of evidence, or for error as to any matter of pleading or procedure, unless in the opinion of the…”
Martindale v. Ripp, 2001 WI 113 (Wis. 2001). “03 (Rulings on evidence) and Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (Mistakes and Omissions; Harmless Error).”
State v. Lamont L. Travis, 2013 WI 38 (Wis. 2013). “See Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (specifying that no judgment shall be reversed unless the court determines, after examining the entire record, that the error complained of has affected the substantial rights of a party).”
State v. Tiepelman, 2006 WI 66 (Wis. 2006). “I'm also primarily sentencing him for the flat out theft that got him convicted. ¶ 53 Furthermore, the legislature has directed the appellate courts of Wisconsin not to overturn earlier court decisions if the claimed of error is harmless.”
State v. Carlson, 2003 WI 40 (Wis. 2003). “See Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2). A holding of "clearly erroneous" often involves an erroneous application of law.”
State v. Harvey, 2002 WI 93 (Wis. 2002). “See Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (specifying that no judgment shall be reversed unless the court determines, after examining the entire record, that the error complained of has affected the substantial rights of a party).”
Koffman v. Leichtfuss, 2001 WI 111 (Wis. 2001). “At trial, inadmissible evidence of the amounts paid by the plaintiff's insurers became central to the issue of medical expense damages and was focused upon by the jury during deliberations.”
Sheboygan Cnty. v. M.W., 2022 WI 40 (Wis. 2022). “W. in no way implied that harmless error review was inapplicable to circuit courts' explanations of fact and law.”
Evelyn C. R. v. Tykila S., 2001 WI 110 (Wis. 2001). “Section 805.18(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes provides in pertinent part: No judgment shall be reversed or set aside or new trial granted in any action or proceeding on the ground of .”
State v. Raheem Moore, 2015 WI 54 (Wis. 2015). “Wisconsin's statutory harmless error test is laid out at Wis. Stat. § 805.18 . It states: The court shall, in every stage of an action, disregard any error or defect in the pleadings or proceedings which shall not affect the substantial rights of the adverse party.”
State v. C. L. K. (In re S.M.H.), 922 N.W.2d 807 (Wis. 2019). “We relied on Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) in part for that conclusion.”
— Wis. Stat. § 805.18(1) — 42 cases
State v. Tiepelman, 2006 WI 66 (Wis. 2006). “I'm also primarily sentencing him for the flat out theft that got him convicted. ¶ 53 Furthermore, the legislature has directed the appellate courts of Wisconsin not to overturn earlier court decisions if the claimed of error is harmless.”
State v. Lamont L. Travis, 2013 WI 38 (Wis. 2013). “See Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (specifying that no judgment shall be reversed unless the court determines, after examining the entire record, that the error complained of has affected the substantial rights of a party).”
State v. Meeks, 2003 WI 104 (Wis. 2003).
State v. Leach, 370 N.W.2d 240 (Wis. 1985).
Jones v. State, 594 N.W.2d 738 (Wis. 1999).
— Wis. Stat. § 805.18(2) — 138 cases
Evelyn C. R. v. Tykila S., 2001 WI 110 (Wis. 2001). “Section 805.18(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes provides in pertinent part: No judgment shall be reversed or set aside or new trial granted in any action or proceeding on the ground of .”
State v. Pettit, 492 N.W.2d 633 (Wis. Ct. App. 1992).
Martindale v. Ripp, 2001 WI 113 (Wis. 2001). “03 (Rulings on evidence) and Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (Mistakes and Omissions; Harmless Error).”
State v. Lindell, 2001 WI 108 (Wis. 2001). “2d 585, 714 (1976); Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) (1999-2000). [7] ś 69.”
State v. C. L. K. (In re S.M.H.), 922 N.W.2d 807 (Wis. 2019). “We relied on Wis. Stat. § 805.18 (2) in part for that conclusion.”
— Wis. Stat. § 805.18(3) — 1 case
McCarville v. Baldwin, 828 F. Supp. 626 (E.D. Wis. 1993).
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