Appellate Review of Dependency Court Orders

The first step in the appellate process is to preserve your right to appeal.  To do this, you must file a Notice of Appeal (form JV-800) within 60 days of the order made at the disposition hearing or any subsequent hearing that results in a final appealable order (including order terminating parental rights at a .26 hearing).  The Notice of Appeal must be filed at the court location where your case was heard, not in the Court of Appeal.  See California Rule of Court 8.405

When you file the Notice of Appeal, it tells the other parties in the case and the court that you are appealing a decision of the trial court.  Upon filing of the notice, the clerk is required to immediately send notice to all parties, including de facto parents, the attorneys, CASA if any, and any Indian custodian and the Indian Tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (if required).  Any cross-appeal must be filed within 60 days of the order being appealed or within 20 days of the clerk sending the initial notice of appeal.  See California Rule of Court 8.406

NOTE: Some appellate districts may have their own forms to file a Notice of Appeal.  This Notice of Appeal form is used by Appellate Defenders, Inc. (ADI), the court appointed attorneys for the Fourth Appellate District (which includes appellants in San Diego, Imperial, Riverside, San Bernardino, Inyo, and Orange Counties).

The record includes the clerk’s transcript and reporter’s transcripts of the oral proceedings at which the judge made the order you are appealing.  Once the Notice of Appeal is filed, the juvenile court clerk must prepare and certify the clerk’s transcript within 20 days and serve it on the parties.  The reporter must prepare, certify and deliver to the clerk the necessary number of copies for filing and service. The reviewing court may order one or more extensions of time to prepare the record – but those extensions may not exceed a total of 60 days. California Rule of Court 8.409

NOTE:  See above section on "Requesting Access to Records for Persons with a Limited Right to Appellate Review" for a special rule that applies when non-parties need to have access to the appellate record in order to pursue their appeal or writ petition.

The parties will file briefs in support of their legal arguments.  The appellant (the party appealing the lower court’s order) has the opportunity to file two briefs (an opening brief and a reply brief).  The respondent (the other party) can only file one brief in the appeal.  Appellant’s first brief is called an opening brief and must be filed and served within 40 days after the record is filed with the reviewing court. In appeals from orders terminating parental rights, the opening brief must be filed within 30 days from the date the record is filed. Respondent then has 30 days after appellant’s opening brief is filed to file and serve respondent’s brief.  If the appellant chooses to file a reply brief (to respondent’s brief), s/he must do so within 20 days after respondent’s brief is filed.

In dependency cases in which the child is not the appellant but has appellate counsel, the child’s appellate counsel must serve and file any brief within 10 days after respondent’s brief is filed.

Keep in mind, any party may apply to the presiding justice for an extension of any of these deadlines for good cause.  A copy of each brief must be served to the trial court clerk for delivery to the judge and the child’s trial counsel. 
California Rule of Court 8.412

Parties have a right to oral argument in the court of appeal, however there is no requirement that they exercise that right.  The reviewing court must send notice of argument at least 20 days before the scheduled date. If oral argument is waived, the appellate court will base their opinion on the parties’ appellate briefs and record as submitted.  If oral argument is requested, each side is generally allotted 30 minutes to present their side, with appellant having the right to open and close. 
California Rule of Court 8.256(b)

After the case is submitted, the court does not accept any more information about the case. The appellate judges have 90 days from the date the case is submitted to decide the appeal. The clerk of the court will mail you a notice of that decision. 

Petition for Rehearing:  If the court of appeal's decision is against you, you may wish to petition for rehearing. Most petitions for rehearing are summarily denied, some with a slight modification of the opinion.  Nonetheless, there are three things that get a reviewing court’s attention in a petition for rehearing: that the court (a) misstated a fact, (b) miscited a case, or (c) erred in its legal analysis. A petition for rehearing must be filed within 15 days of the court’s decision and is also recommended if you plan to petition for review in the Supreme Court.

Petition for Review to the California Supreme Court:  Review by the State’s highest court is granted on the discretionary bases set forth in California Rule of Court 8.500(b).  Review may be granted when it is “necessary to secure uniformity of decision or to settle an important question if law” and is based on the importance of the issues presented rather than errors committed by the lower courts. If a Petition for Review is not filed within forty (40) days after the appellate court issues its decision, the decision is deemed final.

Issuance of the Remittitur:  After an appeal is decided, with or without review by the Supreme Court, the appellate court issues a “remittitur” which transfers the case back to the dependency court and terminates the appellate court’s jurisdiction.   Upon issuance of a remittitur, jurisdiction over the case is transferred back to dependency court and all further proceedings take place there.