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California Courts of Appeal

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The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is divided into six appellate districts based on geography. The decisions of the Courts of Appeal are binding on superior courts, and they in turn are bound by the Supreme Court of California. Notably, all published California appellate decisions are binding on all trial courts,[1] unlike the federal court system, where each trial court is bound only by the appellate decisions from the particular circuit in which it sits, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.[2] Decisions by a Court of Appeal panel are not binding on other panels. When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court of California, or if a Supreme Court justice recuses him or herself from a case, a Court of Appeal justice is assigned to hear each Supreme Court case requiring such assignment. When there are vacancies on the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court assigns a judge from the superior court to sit as a court of appeal justice. Most Court of Appeal opinions are not published and have no precedential value; the opinions that are published are included in the California Appellate Reports.

History

The California Constitution originally made the Supreme Court the only appellate court for the whole state. By the end of the 19th century, however, the Supreme Court was no longer able to keep up with the workload. Accordingly, in 1903, the Legislature proposed a constitutional amendment to create the Court of Appeal. On November 8, 1904, the electorate adopted the amendment.

The Courts of Appeal originally consisted of three appellate districts, headquartered in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, with three justices each. These first nine justices were appointed by the Governor.

Organization

Some of the appellate districts (First and Second) are divided into divisions that have four appellate justices, who are randomly selected to form three-justice panels for each appellate case, and whose workloads are divided semi-randomly to ensure even division of work. Some of the appellate districts (Third, Fifth, and Sixth) are not divided into divisions; for each appellate case, three-justice panels are semi-randomly drawn, again to ensure even division of work. The Fourth District is unique in that it is divided into three geographically-based divisions that are administratively separate, each of which works much like the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Districts.

First District

The Supreme Court of California's headquarters is also home to the First District

The California Court of Appeal for the First District is located in San Francisco. Its jurisdiction is over the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma. It is divided into five non-geographical divisions with four justices each:

Division One:

Division Two:

Division Three:

Division Four:

Division Five:

Second District

The Second District's main courthouse in Los Angeles, which it shares with the Supreme Court's branch office

The California Court of Appeal for the Second District has its main courthouse in Los Angeles and the secondary courthouse, hosting Division Six, in Ventura. Division Six handles appeals from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, while Divisions One through Five, Seven, and Eight handle appeals from Los Angeles County. Each division has four justices.

Division One:

Division Two:

Division Three:

Division Four:

Division Five:

Division Six:

Division Seven:

Division Eight:

Third District

File:Justices 3dca.jpg
Justices of the California Court of Appeal for the Third District as of 2007. Standing, from left to right: Butz, Hull, Raye, Morrison, Robie, Cantil-Sakauye. Seated: Davis, Blease, Scotland, Sims, Nicholson.

The California Court of Appeal for the Third District is located in Sacramento. Its jurisdiction is over the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba. It has 11 justices and is not divided into divisions.

Justices:

Fourth District

The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District is unique in that it is divided into three geographical divisions that are administratively separate, which even have different case number systems, and yet remain referred to as a single district.

Division One

The Division One courthouse is located in San Diego. It handles appeals from Imperial and San Diego Counties. It has 10 justices.

Justices:

Division Two

The Division Two courthouse is located in Riverside. It handles appeals from Inyo, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. It has seven justices. It is the only California appellate court that issues a tentative opinion before oral argument.

Justices:

Division Three

The Division Three courthouse is located in Santa Ana. It handles appeals from Orange County. It has eight justices.

Justices:

Fifth District

File:Californiacourtofappealfifthdistrict.jpg
The Fifth District's Fresno courthouse

The California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District is located in Fresno. Its jurisdiction covers the following counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne. It has 10 justices.

Justices:

Sixth District

File:Comericabanktower.jpg
The Comerica Bank Tower, which houses the Sixth District's courthouse

The California Court of Appeal for the Sixth District is located in the Comerica Bank building in San José. Its jurisdiction covers Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties. It has seven justices.

Justices:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court,, 57 Cal. 2d 450, 369 P.2d 937, 20 Cal. Rptr. 321 (1962).
  2. ^ See, e.g., Reiser v. Residential Funding Corp., 380 F.3d 1027 (7th Cir. 2004).
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