Milwaukee County v. Caldwell

The threshold issue on this appeal is whether an appeal from a county court judgment under a county ordinance imposing a forfeiture must be taken to the circuit court or whether an appeal may in the alternative be taken either to the circuit court or directly to the supreme court. This issue was not raised by the parties, but jurisdiction is always a proper question to consider even if we raise it sua> sponte.

The right to a direct appeal to the supreme court from a county court judgment of forfeiture was left unsettled by the sweeping court reorganization legislation of 1961 because a chapter…