Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California
How much information should you be familar with about sitting justices on t he second appellate div.
CA appellate Courts. real estate case, quiet title. small guy ,friendly Bank friendly?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Bank friendly.
Unless you can show a conflict of interests (or at least the appearance of a conflict), you will not be able to challenge the assignment of a particular appellate justice to your case.
I have practiced in the appellate courts for more than 15 years and have only filed one challenge, in which I noted that two of the justices who could have been assigned to hear my client's appeal had handled portions of his case when they were trial court judges. They both agreed to recuse themselves. There are other types of conflict, but you can't create one by just labeling a justice as "bank friendly".
Feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss your case further. I am a certified appellate specialist who has often represented individuals against institutions.
I agree with Attorney Hoffman. Unless you have evidence of a conflict of interest, you will be unable to change the panel assigned to your matter. If you are self-represented, you would probably be better served observing oral arguments in other cases in order to learn what the justices expect from oral argument, whether a particular justice is proned to ask questions or listen to the argument, or to simply familarize your self with the courtroom's procedures.