Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

Re: Joint appendix in lieu of clerks transcript, CRC, 5,7?

You save some money but it takes more of your time.

My experience is that there is almost never a "Joint Appendix." What ends up happening is that the appellant files an "Appellant's Appendix" and the Respondent adds to it if necessary.

Sometimes it is possible to get additional documentation into an Appellant's Appendix than in a Clerk's Transcript (e.g., if you are requesting Judicial Notice of certain documents). Otherwise, it seems to me to come down to an issue of cost: your time and copying costs versus the cost of requiring the clerk to create the Appendix.

Re: Joint appendix in lieu of clerks transcript, CRC, 5,7?

I find it is always better to prepare a joint appendix, because it gives you control over the appearance, presentation, order and solicitation of the materials to be included in it. It is also simpler, since you merely ask the other side to provide whatever they want to include, and if they don't, you surmise what they would want. If you are going to be before an appellate court, whatever additional cost may be involved, and I'm not sure it costs more, is worth it.