The Appellate Division hears all appeals in limited civil cases, misdemeanors and infractions for the San Diego Superior Court. The Appellate Division is located in downtown San Diego on the second floor of the Central Courthouse, 1100 Union Street, San Diego, CA 92101.
The Appellate Division will review the action of the trial court. In filing an appeal your task is to convince the reviewing court that the trial court made a legal error in deciding your case. If you are successful on appeal, the decision or order of the trial judge may be reversed or your case may be returned to the trial court for re-hearing or further action.
The Appellate Division will not conduct a new trial, consider new facts, or reweigh the credibility of witnesses. Evidence that was not presented to the trial court cannot be included in the appeal.
File your appeal with the trial court where your original case was heard. Once the record on appeal is complete, the trial court will send/certify the appeal to the Appellate Division.
Timelines for appeal depend on the type of case you are appealing. Please refer to the timelines for appeals for more information.
There is no fee for filing an appeal on a misdemeanor or infraction case. Check the current schedule of fees for filing an appeal on a limited civil case.
The rules on appeal are technical. It is helpful to have the advice of an attorney, but it is not required. The California Rules of Court control many of the details of an appeal to the Appellate Division of Superior Court. Please refer to California Rules of Court, rules 8.800 - 8.1125.
All filings with the Appellate Division must be accompanied with a Proof of Service (Appellate Division) (APP-109).
There are two types of service: personal service and service by mail. The proof of service form (POS) is a signed declaration stating a copy of your filings were delivered to the opposing party. The POS must be filled out by someone over the age of 18 and not a party to the action. Instructions for filling out the POS are on the back of the downloadable form.
In addition to the California Rules of Court, the following information forms may be of further assistance:
- APP-015/FW-015-INFO Information Sheet on Waiver of Appellate Court Fees
- APP-101-INFO Information on Appeal Procedures for Limited Civil Cases
- CR-131-INFO Information on Appeal Procedures for Misdemeanors
- CR-141-INFO Information of Appeal Procedures for Infractions
- PKT-040 Information on Infraction Appeals Packet
- APP-109-INFO What is a Proof of Service?
- APP-150-INFO Information on Writ Proceedings in Misdemeanor, Infraction, and Limited Civil Cases
No. The Appellate Division will not conduct a new trial. If you are appealing a decision because the judge or commissioner at the trial court believed the officer's testimony over your testimony, this is not something the Appellate Division can review. Please refer to the traffic appeals page for more information.