Legal Question in Appeals and Writs in California

You can probably find plenty of briefs and a few motions if you look hard enough, but you won't learn very much that way. You'll see the formats that you need to use (assuming your case is in the same court as the ones you're looking at), but you won't learn the rules you'll need to follow and you definitely won't learn the law that you need to apply.

Remember that appeals are subject to different rules and standards from trials. However much you may have learned about the law in the trial court, that knowledge will only get you so far in the Court of Appeal.

Even most lawyers don't know how to write a good appellate brief, motion or petition. But at least they know where to get the information they need, and they already know enough about the law to adequately represent their clients. Very few laypeople can protect their own interests anywhere near as well as a lawyer could -- even one who has never handled an appeal before.

In other words, you should get a lawyer if at all possible. Even if you can't afford to have one represent you, you should at least consult with one who can help you understand the process and who can explain the applicable law.

Feel free to contact me directly if you want to discuss your case. I'm certified by the State Bar of California as a specialist in appellate practice -- a certification held by fewer than 300 of the 200,000-plus lawyers in California. I also have many years of experience the field.

Whether you contact me or not, good luck.

Have you gone to the Los Angeles Law Library, the Mildred Lillie building downtown near the Stanley Mosk Courthouse? They have a system called "BriefServe" or something like that, that contains scanned briefs of various appeals and writ petitions. In addition, they carry the Civil Writs and Appeals guide by The Rutter Group, which is an excellent two volume series containing a lot of information you need to know. I think they also have paper copies of various appellate briefs and writ petitions accumulated over the years.