Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: appeals process

After the Court of Appeal affirms a conviction, the defendant/appellant may file a petition for rehearing asking the Court to reconsider its decision. Such a petition may not simply re-argue the case; instead, it must show that the Court misunderstood the applicable law and/or the facts of the case. The deadline for filing such a petition is fifteen days after the opinion is filed.

If the petition for rehearing is unsuccessful or if no such petition is filed, the next option is to petition for review in the California Supreme Court. The Supreme Court only agrees to review a small fraction of cases brought to it, and it selects cases based upon the importance of the legal issues involved rather than upon whether the result seems incorrect. Thus, if you want the Supreme Court to take the case you should demonstrate that different courts take different views of the same issue or that there is some other compelling reason why the Court should step in and resolve the matter. There is a ten-day window in which a Petition for Review may be filed; it begins on the 31st day after the Court of Appeal issues its decision and ends on the 40th day. Note that these dates are *not* affected by a petition for rehearing unless the appellate court either grants that petition or both modifies its decision and says that the modification is a change in the judgment.

If the Supreme Court grants review you can argue the merits of the case there, much as you did in the Court of Appeal. If it denies review (or if it grants review and you lose), you can go to the U.S. Supreme Court. That Court will only accept a case that raises important legal questions about a federal law or the U.S. Constitution.

If all of these options fail you can try to petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Such a writ would usually be filed in the same court where the trial was held. If it fails it could then be brought in the Court of Appeal and again in the California Supreme Court.

If you still have not succeeded you can bring a similar petition in the U.S. District Court. From there you could go to the U.S. Court of Appeals (here in California you would appeal to the Ninth Circuit) and, from there, back to the U.S. Supreme Court.

These procedures are highly technical and your chances of success will be much better if you have an attorney -- especially one with appellate expertise. As you may have guessed by now, I have such experties and have been certified by the state bar as an appellate specialist. Please feel free to contact me directly.