Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: How do I enforce the writ of supersedeas?

Do you have a lawyer, or did you get the writ by yourself? You probably should get a lawyer quickly to see your rights. It's too difficult to answer your question completely with the information you've given us.

Re: How do I enforce the writ of supersedeas?

It would seem to me that you need to ensure that the trial court has received a copy of the writ or the order. I would still oppose the contempt proceedings, and point out (delicately) that the Court of Appeal has issued a writ.

If the trial court finds you in contempt, you may ask for a stay and seek immediate relief by way of Habeas Corpus. It seems to me that a trial court that conducts a hearing in defiance of a writ is asking for contempt himself.

A lot of attorneys practice law by misleading the trial court, so your opponent may be doing this, and the trial court may not be aware of the writ.

Did you serve the original petition on the court? Most rules require that you do so.

Very truly yours,

Re: How do I enforce the writ of supersedeas?

As Mr. Roach stated, make sure the court is served with a copy of the Writ. Then you might call the clerk and ask what the court is going to do. The writ doesn't stop a motion from being filed, as the filing clerk downstairs has no idea of what else is going on. But the court surely will not disobey an order like that from the appellate court. If the clerk doesn't know, you must file opposition to the contempt motion, and do all things needed to oppose it, but you won't really know what is going to happen until the hearing. The court will probably just take the matter off calendar, or otherwise stay things is obeyance with the Writ.

You really ought to hire a lawyer for this, or possibly ask the court to appoint one for you if incarceration is possible.