Geo. McCalip's Traffic Ticket Site

THE APPEAL

Judges, Pro Tems and Commissioners do make mistakes. If you don't believe it, just take a look at the Iggy Awards. If this happens in your case, the proper thing to do is to appeal the decision.

NOTE: As is the case for the rest of this site, this information is for traffic cases in CALIFORNIA.

The four parties to an appeal are:

• The Defendant/Appellant (i.e., you).
• The Plaintiff/Respondent (i.e., the People of the State of California represented by the DA or City Attorney, even if the DA or City Attorney was not at the trial).
• The lower court (i.e., the court that made the decision which the Defendant/Appellant is appealing).
• The higher court (i.e., The Appellate Department or Division of the Superior Court).

Some might joke that the fifth party to an appeal is the Post Office since (except for the Settled Statement Hearing) the process can be done by mail.

The appeal consists of the following steps:

• The Notice of Appeal
• The Proposed Statement
• The Settled Statement Hearing
• The Engrossed Statement
• The Opening Brief
• The Response Brief
• The Reply Brief
• The Oral Arguments
• The Decision

I advise reading through all of the procedure before filing a Notice of Appeal.

I would also suggest that you consider spending a morning in the Appellate Division observing the oral arguments before writing your brief, if not before filing your appeal. Do not let the experience intimidate you, just go and learn.

© 2002 Geo. McCalip