Welcome to our website.

We are the Los Angeles office of the California Appellate Project (CAP-LA).  We are a non-profit law firm. Under a contract with the State of California, CAP-LA manages the court-appointed counsel program for the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal, which has jurisdiction over Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.  We also directly represent some clients under court-appointment.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

*** OSPD MCLE - Civility in the Legal Profession, September 4, 2024 - 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM Zoom Registration Link

Join Catherine Mattice, CEO of Civility Partners, for this timely discussion on the connection between incivility and bias and managing incivility between opposing parties, counsel, and the judiciary. Attendees will walk away with practical tips for addressing incivility, and a heightened self-awareness of their own potential to be uncivil. *1.25 hours of civility MCLE Credit is offered for this training*

***IMPORTANT TIP: Before sending a paper record to CAP-LA for a Wende or Delgadillo review, please check with us to see if we already have an electronic copy. If we do have an electronic copy, you do not need to send the paper copy in for review.

*** SB 483 UPDATE TO CDCR Website explaining when and how the superior courts were notified of eligible defendants. In response to confusion amongst the superior courts as to how notifications would be sent, the CDCR has clarified this process, which could be helpful to cases on appeal. Learn more here: Senate Bill 483 - Family & Friends Services (ca.gov)

*** Student Loan Forgiveness under PSLF: The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program has implemented new rules about who qualifies for federal student loan forgiveness. Previously, only full-time employees for a non-profit or government agency qualified.  Under the new regulations, independent contractors working in a full-time capacity may qualify in certain situations. For more information on the new rule, visit the PSLF information on qualifying employment and expand the FAQ "Am I eligible for PSLF if I'm a contractor?"  

• The JCC is willing to certify the number of claimed hours that a panel attorney has billed in a given year. As always we strongly encourage counsel to continue claiming their actual time on claims and avoid self-cutting. The projects hope that theses changes mean that borrowers with federally managed loans may obtain loan forgiveness. Please share your success stories with us!

• Link to PSLF Project Explanation, CAC Program Description and PSLF & TEPSLF JCC Certification Information.

*** Supplemental Records from LASC delayed? Please note that the date a supplemental record is filed in the Court of Appeal may be sooner than the date you receive the record. For physical copies, this is because the Court of Appeal uses a courier, while supplemental records are sent to counsel by UPS or, if using a P.O. Box, by certified mail. Also, records may shipped/mailed to counsel days after the record is couriered to the court. If the record has not arrived after a reasonable amount of time, please contact the LASC Felony Appeals Department at (213) 628-7900, option 1 or 2 for preferred language, then option 3 for felony appeals. NOTE: allow the phone to ring until the call is answered, which may take some time.

*** CCAP is Accepting Applications for Two Staff Attorney Positions. The job announcement, which includes instructions for submitting an application, is available here. The deadline for submitting applications is May 10, 2024. Visit CCAP’s website for more information.

***FDAP is Accepting Applications for Staff Attorneys. Join FDAP the rewarding work of representing indigent parties in the California Courts of Appeal in criminal, delinquency, child dependency, and civil commitment appeals. Visit FDAP’s website for more information.

*** Documentary exhibits must be made part of the Clerk’s Transcript pursuant to Second Appellate District Local Rule 1, subdivision (a)(7), as follows:

“The Clerk's Transcript shall include all documentary exhibits admitted in evidence, refused, or lodged in the case in the superior court, including copies of any demonstrative exhibts that were shown to the trier of fact if those copies were lodged in the superior court. The demonstrative exhibits to be included in the clerk’s transcript shall include copies of computer slide presentations (such as PowerPoint presentations) that were shown to the trier of fact, whether or not the presentations were marked as exhibits if copies were lodged in the superior court. Each admitted exhibit shall be clearly identified and sequentially numbered.”

*** Superior Court Changes, beginning November 6, 2023, the court is switching to a new case management system. Under the new system, case “dockets” are no longer available. Instead, public terminals are to be available for use to view and determine which minutes you need. It is not yet clear whether printers will be available for the public or whether, once the dates needed are determined, the clerk will print any needed minute orders. CAP will update as new information is received.

*** In delinquency cases, the superior court no longer wants record omission letters by U.S. Mail. Going forward, send the letters via email to: elkjuvenileappeals@lacourt.org

*** Delgadillo And No-Issues Briefs, the California Supreme Court clarified procedures for appellate review of Penal Code section 1172.6 resentencing appeals where counsel files a no-issues brief. See People v. Delgadillo (2022) 14 Cal.5th 216 here. The decision is now final and the Second District has declared its preference for Delgadillo briefs instead of Serrano briefs in other no-issues cases. Sample Delgadillo briefs are here and here. As always, please contact CAP before filing any no issue brief.

*** The address for requests for record completion in criminal cases in LA County has changed. Please continue to the “Criminal” page for details.

*** Rules for electronic filing in the California Supreme Court can be found here.

*** There are important new changes to filing in Los Angeles County dependency cases. Go to the dependency page on this site.

If you need a quick link to e-claims it's here: