California Courts of Appeal

About

The California Courts of Appeal were established by constitutional amendment in 1904 and are the state's intermediate courts of review. The primary function of the Courts of Appeal is to ensure that the law is interpreted and applied correctly, not to hear testimony, consider evidence outside of the record, or retry cases. An appeal from a superior court judgment is decided based on the record from the original trial or proceeding.  There are six districts throughout the state and the Courts of Appeal website is organized by each district. Learn about the districts, their processes, justices on the bench, view oral arguments, and more. 

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What You'll Find on the Courts of Appeal Site

1st District Court of Appeal

Serves Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma counties.

2nd District Court of Appeal

Serves Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties.

3rd District Court of Appeal

Serves 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 counties.

4th District Court of Appeal

Serves Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties.

5th District Court of Appeal

Serves Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties.

6th District Court of Appeal

Serves Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.

Statewide Appellate Programs

The California Courts of Appeal have programs that apply across the state.  Explore each of our programs, including the California Judicial Mentorship Program, the Court-Appointed Counsel Program, and Habeas Counsel (Prop 66).