California Courts of Appeal
The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is divided into six appellate districts based on geography. The decisions of the Courts of Appeal are binding on the Superior Courts of California, and both the Courts of Appeal and the Superior Courts are bound by the decisions of the Supreme Court of California. Notably, all published California appellate decisions are binding on all trial courts,[Auto Equity Sales, Inc. v. Superior Court,, 57 Cal. 2d 450, 369 P.2d 937, 20 Cal. Rptr. 321 (1962).] unlike the federal court system, where each trial court is bound only by the appellate decisions from the particular circuit in which it sits, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.[See, e.g., Reiser v. Residential Funding Corp., 380 F.3d 1027 (7th Cir. 2004).] Court of Appeal decisions are not binding between divisions or even between panels of the same division.
When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court of California, or if a Supreme Court justice recuses him or herself from a case, a Court of Appeal justice is temporarily assigned to hear each Supreme Court case requiring such assignment. When there are vacancies on the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court temporarily assigns a judge from the superior court to sit as a Court of Appeal justice.
All California appellate courts are required by the California Constitution to decide cases in writing with reasons stated, even if the appeal is completely frivolous (the decision must summarize the facts and law of the case before concluding that the appeal is frivolous).[People v. Kelly, 40 Cal. 4th 106 (2006).] Most Court of Appeal opinions are not published and have no precedential value;[Schmier v. Supreme Court, 78 Cal. App. 4th 703 (2000). The plaintiff in this case unsuccessfully challenged the selective publication policy as unconstitutional. The court retorted: "Appellant either misunderstands or ignores the realities of the intermediate appellate process." The court went on to describe the variety of frivolous appeals regularly encountered by the Courts of Appeal, and concluded: "Our typical opinions in such cases add nothing to the body of stare decisis, and if published would merely clutter overcrowded library shelves and databases with information utterly useless to anyone other than the actual litigants therein and complicate the search for meaningful precedent."] the opinions that are published are included in the California Appellate Reports.
History
The California Constitution originally made the Supreme Court the only appellate court for the whole state. By the end of the 19th century, however, the Supreme Court was no longer able to keep up with the workload. Accordingly, in 1903, the Legislature proposed a constitutional amendment to create the Court of Appeal. On November 8, 1904, the electorate adopted the amendment.
The Courts of Appeal originally consisted of three appellate districts, headquartered in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, with three justices each. These first nine justices were appointed by the Governor.
Organization
Some of the appellate districts (First and Second) are divided into divisions that have four appellate justices, who are randomly selected to form three-justice panels for each appellate case, and whose workloads are divided semi-randomly to ensure even division of work. Some of the appellate districts (Third, Fifth, and Sixth) are not divided into divisions; for each appellate case, three-justice panels are semi-randomly drawn, again to ensure even division of work. The Fourth District is unique in that it is divided into three geographically-based divisions that are administratively separate, each of which works much like the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Districts.
First District
The California Court of Appeal for the First District is located in San Francisco. Its jurisdiction is over the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma. It is divided into five non-geographical divisions with four justices each:
Division One:
 James J. Marchiano, Presiding Justice
William D. Stein, Associate Justice
Douglas E. Swager, Associate Justice
Sandra L. Margulies, Associate Justice
Division Two:
J. Anthony Kline, Presiding Justice
Paul R. Haerle, Associate Justice
James R. Lambden, Associate Justice
James A. Richman, Associate Justice
Division Three:
William R. McGuiness, Presiding Justice
Stuart R. Pollak, Associate Justice
Peter J. Siggins, Associate Justice
Martin J. Jenkins, Associate Justice
Division Four:
Ignazio J. Ruvolo, Presiding Justice
Timothy A. Reardon, Associate Justice
Patricia K. Sepulveda, Associate Justice
Maria P. Rivera, Associate Justice
Division Five:
Barbara J. R. Jones, Presiding Justice
Mark B. Simons, Associate Justice
Henry E. Needham, Jr., Associate Justice
Vacant
Clerk/Administrator: Diana J. Herbert
Assistant Clerk/Administrator: Susan Graham
Second District
The California Court of Appeal for the Second District has its main courthouse in Los Angeles and the secondary courthouse, hosting Division Six, in Ventura. Division Six handles appeals from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, while Divisions One through Five, Seven, and Eight handle appeals from Los Angeles County. Each division has four justices.
Division One:
Robert M. Mallano, Presiding Justice
Miriam A. Vogel, Associate Justice
Frances Rothschild, Associate Justice
Vacant
Division Two:
Roger W. Boren, Presiding Justice
Kathryn Doi Todd, Associate Justice
Judith M. Ashmann-Gerst, Associate Justices
Victoria M. Chavez, Associate Justice
Division Three:
Joan D. Klein, Presiding Justice
H. Walter Croskey, Associate Justice
Patti S. Kitching, Associate Justice
Richard D. Aldrich, Associate Justice
Division Four:
Norman L. Epstein, Presiding Justice
Thomas L. Willhite, Jr., Associate Justice
Nora M. Manella, Associate Justice
Steven C. Suzukawa, Associate Justice
Division Five:
Paul Turner, Presiding Justice
Orville A. Armstrong, Associate Justice
Richard M. Mosk, Associate Justice
Sandy R. Kriegler, Associate Justice
Division Six:
Arthur Gilbert, Presiding Justice
Kenneth R. Yegan, Associate Justice
Paul H. Coffee, Associate Justice
Steven Z. Perren, Associate Justice
Division Seven:
Dennis M. Perluss, Presiding Justice
Fred Woods, Associate Justice
Laurie D. Zelon, Associate Justice
Frank Y. Jackson, Associate Justice
Division Eight:
Candace Cooper, Presiding Justice
Laurence D. Rubin, Associate Justice
Madeleine I. Flier, Associate Justice
Patricia A. Bigelow, Associate Justice
Clerk/Administrator: Joseph A. Lane
Assistant Clerk/Administrators: Daniel P. Potter and Paul McGill
Third District
The California Court of Appeal for the Third District is located in Sacramento. Its jurisdiction is over the following counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba. It has 11 justices and is not divided into divisions.
Justices:
Arthur G. Scotland, Presiding Justice
Coleman A. Blease, Associate Justice
Rick Sims, Associate Justice
Rod Davis, Associate Justice
George Nicholson, Associate Justice
Vance W. Raye, Associate Justice
Fred K. Morrison, Associate Justice
Harry Hull, Associate Justice
Ronald B. Robie, Associate Justice
M. Kathleen Butz, Associate Justice
Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Associate Justice
Clerk/Administrator: Deena C. Fawcett
Assistant Clerk/Administrator: Norman H. Harebottle
Fourth District
The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District is unique in that it is divided into three geographical divisions that are administratively separate, which even have different case number systems, and yet remain referred to as a single district.
Division One
The Division One courthouse is located in San Diego. It handles appeals from Imperial and San Diego Counties. It has 10 justices.
Justices:
Judith McConnell, Presiding Justice
Patricia D. Benke, Associate Justice
Richard D. Huffman, Associate Justice
Gilbert Nares, Associate Justice
Judith L. Haller, Associate Justice
Alex C. McDonald, Associate Justice
James A. McIntyre, Associate Justice
Terry B. O'Rourke, Associate Justice
Cynthia Aaron, Associate Justice
Joan Irion, Associate Justice
Clerk/Administrator: Stephen M. Kelly
Assistant Clerk/Administrator: Kevin J. Lane
Division Two
The Division Two courthouse is located in Riverside. It handles appeals from Inyo, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. It has seven justices. It is the only California appellate court that issues a tentative opinion before oral argument.
Justices:
Manuel A. Ramirez, Presiding Justice
Barton C. Gaut, Associate Justice
Betty Ann Richli, Associate Justice
Art W. McKinster, Associate Justice
Thomas E. Hollenhorst, Associate Justice
Jeffrey King, Associate Justice
Douglas P. Miller, Associate Justice
Division Three
The Division Three courthouse is located in Santa Ana. It handles appeals from Orange County. It has eight justices.
Justices:
David G. Sills, Presiding Justice
William F. Rylaarsdam, Associate Justice
William W. Bedsworth, Associate Justice
Kathleen E. O'Leary, Associate Justice
Eileen C. Moore, Associate Justice
Richard M. Aronson, Associate Justice
Richard F. Fybel, Associate Justice
Raymond J. Ikola, Associate Justice
Fifth District
The California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District is located in Fresno. Its jurisdiction covers the following counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne. It has 10 justices.
Justices:
James A. Ardaiz, Presiding Justice
Steven M. Vartabedian, Associate Justice
Thomas A. Harris, Associate Justice
Rebecca A. Wiseman, Associate Justice
Bert Levy, Associate Justice
Dennis A. Cornell, Associate Justice
Gene M. Gomes, Associate Justice
Betty L. Dawson, Associate Justice
Brad R. Hill, Associate Justice
Stephen J. Kane, Associate Justice
Sixth District
The California Court of Appeal for the Sixth District is located in the Comerica Bank building in San José. Its jurisdiction covers Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties. It has seven justices.
Justices:
Conrad L. Rushing, Presiding Justice
Eugene M. Premo, Associate Justice
Franklin D. Elia, Associate Justice
Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian, Associate Justice
Nathan D. Mihara, Associate Justice
Richard J. McAdams, Associate Justice
Wendy Clark Duffy, Associate Justice
Clerk/Administrator: Michael J Yerly
Assistant Clerk/Administrator: Corrine Pochop
See also
Supreme Court of California
Court of Appeals
Districts in California
External links
California Judicial System
Appellate Case Information System
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