Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 8.28

  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Inhabitant: means a resident. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Qualified: when applied to any person elected or appointed to office, means that such person has done those things which the person was by law required to do before entering upon the duties of the person's office. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
   (1)    Any individual who believes that an individual holding or elected to state or local office is not a resident or inhabitant of this state or of the jurisdiction or district in which he or she serves, whenever such qualification is required by the constitution of this state or by any applicable law, may file a verified complaint with the attorney general alleging such facts as may cause him or her to believe that the individual is not qualified to hold office because of failure to meet a residency requirement.
   (2)   The attorney general may thereupon investigate whether such allegations are true. If the attorney general finds that the allegations of the complaint are true or for any other reason finds that the subject person who is holding or elected to office is not qualified because of failure to meet a residency requirement, the attorney general may commence an action under ch. 784 for a writ of quo warranto to have the subject person’s office declared vacant or to restrain any person not entitled to take office from assuming it. In the case of a person who is elected to office in the legislature, the clerk of court shall transmit a copy of the judgment to the presiding officer of the appropriate house, and the house shall determine whether the person is qualified to be seated or whether a vacancy exists.