Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (2026)

Power to answer

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WI-LEGdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

821.01821.01 Power to answer. The supreme court may answer questions of law certified to it by the supreme court of the United States, a court of appeals of the United States or the highest appellate court of any other state when requested by the certifying court if there are involved in any proceeding before it questions of law of this state which may be determinative of the cause then pending in the certifying court and as to which it appears to the certifying court there is no controlling precedent in the decisions of the supreme court and the court of appeals of this state.

821.01 HistoryHistory: Sup. Ct. Order, 107 Wis. 2d xiii (1982).

821.01 NoteJudicial Council Note, 1982: This section provides that the supreme court has the right to answer questions certified to it; it is not mandatory. Under some circumstances it is possible that the court might decide not to answer a certified question. See, for example, Atlas Life Insurance Co. v. W. I. Southern, Inc., 306 U.S. 563 (1939) and National Labor Relations Board v. White Swan, 313 U.S. 23 (1941) (in both cases the Supreme court of the United States refused to answer certified questions).

821.01 NoteThe courts listed as the courts which may certify questions are the Supreme Court of the United States and the federal Courts of Appeals. Also included are the highest appellate courts of other states. This provision allows certification of questions in conflicts cases. [Re Order effective January 1, 1983]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 43 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1983–2021 · leading case: Plastics Eng'g Co. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., 2009 WI 13 (Wis. 2009).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Plastics Eng'g Co. v. Liberty Mut. Ins., 2009 WI 13 (Wis. 2009). · cites it 20× “This is a certification of questions of law from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (2005-06). [1] The questions certified for determination are: "(1) what constitutes an `occurrence' in an insurance contract when exposure…”

United States v. Dennis Franklin, 928 N.W.2d 545 (Wis. 2019). · cites it 4× “2018); see Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (2017-18).1 The question certified for determination is: Whether the different location subsections of the Wisconsin burglary statute, Wis.”

Winebow, Inc. v. Capitol-Husting Co., Inc., 914 N.W.2d 631 (Wis. 2018). · cites it 4× “2017); see Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (2015-16).1 It certified the following question: "Does the definition of a dealership contained in Wis.”

In Re Certified Question From 14th Dist. Court of Appeals of Texas, 740 N.W.2d 206 (Mich. 2007). · cites it 3× “Code § 51-1A-3; Wis. Stat. § 821.01 ; Wyoming, WRAP 11.01.”

Mau v. North Dakota Ins. Reserve Fund, 2001 WI 134 (Wis. 2001). · cites it 4× “This case is before the court on certification from the Supreme Court of North Dakota pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (1995-96). [1] The parties dispute whether Wolfgang Mau is covered under an underinsured motorist policy.”

Daphne Smith v. RecordQuest LLC, 989 F.3d 513 (7th Cir. 2021). · cites it 2× “” Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (emphasis added). This case may not even be certifiable under Wisconsin law because ChartSwap is controlling precedent under Wis.”

Jackson Cnty. v. State Dep't of Nat. Resources, 2006 WI 96 (Wis. 2006). · cites it 4× “[3] See Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (2003-04), which states: 821.”

United States v. Franklin, 895 F.3d 954 (7th Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “Pursuant to Circuit Rule 52 and Wis. Stat. § 821.01 , we request that the Wisconsin Supreme Court answer a question of Wisconsin law that should control our decision in these appeals of federal sentences under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.”

Hanlon v. Town of Milton, 2000 WI 61 (Wis. 2000). · cites it 4× “This is a certification of a question of law from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (1997-98). 1 Hanlon v.”

Baldewein Co. v. Tri-Clover, Inc., 2000 WI 20 (Wis. 2000). · cites it 4× “This case is before the court on certification from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 821.01 (1997-98) and Circuit Rule 52.”

Daanen & Janssen, Inc. v. Cedarapids, Inc., 573 N.W.2d 842 (Wis. 1998). · cites it 2× “This case is before the court on a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 821.01 and Circuit Rule 52. The question certified to this court is: In the absence of privity, 1 does the economic loss doctrine bar a…”

Roric Gibbs v. Brooke Lomas, 755 F.3d 529 (7th Cir. 2014). “01 ("The supreme court may answer questions of law certified to it by the supreme court of the United States, a court of appeals of the United States or the highest appellate court of any other state when requested by the certifying court if there are involved in any proceeding…”

Show all 43 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.