Appeals: Superior Court of California, County of Kern

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Superior Court of California, County of Kern

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Introduction to Appeals
Filing an Appeal
Fifth District of the Court of Appeals (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window)

Introduction to Appeals

The courts of appeal are an intermediate court of review. The courts of appeal have jurisdiction over trial courts that have original jurisdiction over a cause of action.

An appeal is filed when a party asks the appellate court to review a decision made by a trial judge because that party does not agree with the judge's decision. The jury is the trier of fact and the appeal court cannot review questions of fact. The appellate court may only decide on issues regarding an error of law that was serious enough to have prevented a party from having a fair trial.

Appeals are always heard in a higher court than the court that heard the original matter. In Kern County, the appellate court for a given type of matter is as follows:

Type of Matter	Appellate Court
Parking Citation	Traffic Court
Traffic Citation	Appellate Division of the Superior Court
Small Claims	Limited Jurisdiction Civil
Unlawful Detainers	Appellate Division of the Superior Court
Juvenile Delinquency or Juvenile Dependency	Fifth District Court of Appeals
Limited Jurisdiction Civil	Appellate Division of the Superior Court
Unlimited Jurisdiction Civil	Fifth District Court of Appeals
Misdemeanor Criminal	Appellate Division of the Superior Court
Felony Criminal	Fifth District Court of Appeals

The appellate court will not retry the case. No witnesses are heard and only evidence presented at trial will be considered. Where there are conflicts in the evidence, the trial judge will be the sole arbitrator. As long as the trial judge's decision was supported by substantial evidence the appellate court will not disturb the judge's decision.

Filing an Appeal

Parking Citation
Traffic Court Decision
Small Claims Judgment
Unlawful Detainers
Ruling of Juvenile Delinquency or Juvenile Dependency
Civil Matter

Appealing a Parking Citation

Process:	To file a Parking Appeal, the final decision of the issuing or processing agency must first be reached. The contester shall file a Notice of Parking Appeal form with Superior Court, Traffic Division and pay the filing fee. The contester will be provided with the date, time and location of the hearing at that time. The contester shall serve a copy of the Notice of Appeal to the issuing agency with proof of service no later than 10 days prior to the hearing date. A judicial officer shall hear the case "de novo" and the contents of the issuing/processing agency's file will be received into evidence. The contester shall be provided with the judicial officer's "Notice of Decision-Parking Appeal" either at the conclusion of the hearing or by mail.
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	Within 30 days of the mailing of the final decision by the processing or issuing agency.
Forms:	Notice of Parking Appeal forms are available at: Traffic Division Superior Court Metropolitan Division, Justice Building, First Floor 1215 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301
Filing Fee:	Please see Fee Schedule Money orders or checks should be made payable to Kern County Superior Court and are required at the time of filing. What if I can't afford to pay?

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Appealing a Traffic Court Decision

Process:	The appellant must file a Notice of Appeal (form TR-155) within 30 calendar days after the date of sentencing (trial date). Within 15 days after filing the appeal, a Proposed Statement on Appeal (Form TR-160) must be filed. This will include either a Settled Statement or a request for a certified transcript which the defendant is responsible to pay. A hearing will be set with the trial judge to certify the Proposed Statement or the reporter's transcript. Upon certification, the case is ready for transmittal of the record on appeal to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. The Appellate Division will notify the appellant with a due date to file their opening brief. Failure to file the opening brief by the due date may result in a dismissal of the appeal. At this point, all correspondence will be with the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	Notice of appeal (form TR-155) must be filed within thirty days after the date of sentencing.
Forms:	Notice of Appeal and Proposed Statement on Appeal forms are available from the Traffic Court clerk's office: Traffic Division Superior Court Metropolitan Division, Justice Building, First Floor 1215 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301
Filing Fee:	There is no fee for filing an appeal on a Traffic Court ruling.
Other Notes:	If you file an appeal you must still comply with all the conditions and terms of the judge's court order. Filing an appeal does not stop enforcement of a judgment.

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Appealing a Small Claims Judgment

Process:	Small claims courts do not have a court reporter or electronic record of the court hearing; because of this a small claims court appeal results in a trial de novo (new trial). This means that the appellate judge will hear the case from the beginning without referral back to what the trial judge had decided. If you appeal your small claims court decision, you will have to represent your evidence and testimony from the beginning to the appellate judge. The plaintiff may not appeal a small claims case. Only the defendant or the plaintiff who was the defendant in a counter-suit may appeal the ruling of a small claims case. If there are multiple defendants in a small claims court cause of action, any one of them may appeal, causing all the defendants to have to reappear in court to re-defend themselves in the small claims appeal. Normally in small claims court causes of action, you may not have an attorney attend and represent you in the hearing, however, in small claims appeals you may hire an attorney to argue your case before the court in small claims court appeals. If you must change your trial date, you must send a written request to the court stating your reasons for the change. You must also send a copy of this request to the other parties in the appeal.
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	You must file an appeal within thirty days of the mailing of Notice of Entry of Judgment. After thirty days there is an automatic Entry of Final Judgment after which you have no more right to appeal. The thirty days are calculated from the beginning of the day after the date shown as the mailing date on the Notice of Entry of Judgment form. If the 30th day falls on a weekend or a court holiday, your appeal must be filed the next court day.
Forms:	Refer to California Rules of Court 2.100 through 2.119 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window) for proper format. Waiver of Fee forms are available at all Small Claims Courts
Filing Fee:	Please see Fee Schedule Money orders or checks should be made payable to Kern County Superior Court and are required at the time of filing. What if I can't afford to pay?

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Unlawful Detainers

Process:	The appellant files a Notice of Appeal with the trial court where the case was heard.
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	30 days after mailing or personal service of Notice of Entry of Judgment. Exception: 90 days from Entry of Judgement if the notice was not mailed or personally served.
Forms:	Refer to California Rules of Court 2.100 through 2.119 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window) for proper format.
Filing Fee:	Please see Fee Schedule Money orders or checks should be made payable to Kern County Superior Court and are required at the time of filing. What if I can't afford to pay?

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Appealing a Ruling of Juvenile Delinquency or Juvenile Dependency

Appeals on juvenile delinquency are directed to the Juvenile Division. Contact information:

Process:	Appeals on juvenile delinquency or dependency may be presented to the Juvenile Clerk's Office. The document will be received and forwarded to the Superior Court Appeals Division. Appeals may also be filed directly with the Superior Court Appeals Division. To appeal from an order or judgment, you must file written notice of appeal within 60 days after rendition of the judgment or making of the order or, in matters heard by a referee, within 60 days after the order of the referee becomes final. If you wish to preserve your right to appeal the court's decision of the order setting a hearing date pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code §366.26 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window) a petition for extraordinary writ must be filed. If you intend to file the petition for writ, a notice of intent to file a writ petition and request for record must be filed with the juvenile court within 7 days of the court's order to set the hearing pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code §366.26 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window).
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	60 days after rendition of the judgment or making of the order. Matters heard by a referee: 60 days after the order of the referee becomes final. If you intend to file the petition for writ, a notice of intent to file a writ petition and request for record must be filed with the juvenile court within 7 days of the court's order to set the hearing pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code §366.26 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window).
Forms:	All form links below are from the California Courts/Judicial Branch Website, they also open new windows. Refer to California Rules of Court 2.100 through 2.119 for proper format. Form #JV-800 (PDF): Notice of Appeal - Juvenile, Rule 8.480 Form #JV-820 (PDF): Notice of Intent to File Writ Petition and Request for Record, Rule 8.482

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Civil Matter

Unlimited Jurisdiction Civil Matter
Limited Jurisdiction Civil Matter

Appealing a Unlimited Jurisdiction Civil Matter

California Rules of Court, Rules 8.702 through 8.709 (opens new window) discusses appealing an unlimited jurisdiction civil case.
Code of Civil Procedure Section 904.1 (opens new window) discusses unlimited jurisdiction civil cases that may be taken to the Court of Appeal.
Code of Civil Procedure Section 906 (opens new window) discusses the actions that the reviewing court may take regarding the appealed civil case.

Process:	The party files a Notice of Appeal with the trial court clerk The trial court clerk forwards a copy of the Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeal for the appellate district where the trial court is located. The County of Kern is located in the Fifth District of the Court of Appeals. (opens new window) The Court of Appeals, Fifth District covers nine counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislas, Tulare, and Tuolumne. Hearings are usually conducted in Fresno. Appeals may be heard in outlying counties if there are sufficient appeals to fill one day's calendar and there are suitable courtroom facilities available. An appellate record of proceedings is prepared and filed with the Court of Appeal. After this is filed, briefs are due from the involved parties. After the briefs are filed, the case is eligible to be heard in oral argument. Once the parties have either given their oral argument or filed a waiver of oral argument, the court of appeals will file its decision.
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	60 days after mailing or personal service of the Entry of Judgment. Exception: 180 days from Entry of Judgment if notice was not mailed or personally served.
Forms:	Refer to California Rules of Court 2.100 through 2.119 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window) for proper format.
Filing Fee:	Please see Fee Schedule Money orders or checks should be made payable to the Fifth District Court of Appeals, and are required at the time of filing. What if I can't afford to pay?

Appealing a Limited Jurisdiction Civil Matter

California Rules of Court, Rules 8.750 through 8.773 (opens new window) discusses appealing a limited jurisdiction civil case.
Code of Civil Procedure Section 904.2 (opens new window) discusses limited jurisdiction civil cases that may be taken to the appellate division of the Superior Court.
Code of Civil Procedure Section 906 (opens new window) discusses the actions that the reviewing court may take regarding the appealed civil case.

Process:	The appellant files a Notice of Appeal with the trial court where the case was heard.
Deadline: (Statute of Limitations)	30 days after mailing or personal service of Notice of Entry of Judgment. Exception: 90 days from Entry of Judgment if the notice was not mailed or personally served.
Forms:	Refer to California Rules of Court 2.100 through 2.119 (California Courts/Judicial Branch Website - opens new window) for proper format.
Filing Fee:	Please see Fee Schedule Money orders or checks should be made payable to Kern County Superior Court and are required at the time of filing. What if I can't afford to pay?

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Fee Waivers

If you are unable to afford the court fees and costs to file an appeal, you may qualify for a waiver of those costs. Obtain an Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs form from the court clerk or by downloading the Application for Waiver of Court Fees and Costs form (PDF - opens new window) from the Judicial Council's forms web page. Fill out the form and submit it with your appeal form. If the judge approves your fee waiver request your court fees will be waived.

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If you still have questions, e-mail Appeals.

Superior Court of California, County of Kern court employees are prohibited from giving legal advice per section 24004 and 68082 of the Government Code. In addition, court employees may not give advice as to which legal forms to use or how to complete the forms.

Last Modified
6/15/2007

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