In most civil appeals, you must designate the record on appeal. "Designating the record" means that you must let the superior court know what documents and oral proceedings if any, to include in the record that will be sent to the appellate court.
PRINT EMAILYou must designate the record (tell the superior court what documents and oral proceedings, if any, you want to be included in the record on appeal) within 10 days of filing the Notice of Appeal.
In most civil appeals, the appellant must pay for both the record that is sent to the appellate court and for their copy of the record, and the respondent must pay for their own copy of the record. You may have to deposit the estimated amount of these fees upfront. If you do this, you will get a refund for any unused portion of your deposit.
For certain types of juvenile appeals (dependency and delinquency), what is included in the record is set by the rules of court so you do not have to worry about designating the record.
Since the appellate court judges were not there for the trial court proceedings, an official record of what happened in the trial court needs to be prepared for the appellate court to review. The appellate court reviews this official record of what happened in trial court to see if the trial court made a legal mistake.
The record is a very important part of an appeal. Think of the record as a package that contains all of the information that the judges need to know about what happened in the trial court to review the case. You can only put into the package those items (like filings, transcripts, orders, motions, and minutes) that were part of the trial court proceedings.
And, when writing your brief and doing your oral argument, you can only refer to parts of the trial court proceedings that are included in this package. The contents of the record limit the issues and information that the parties can use in their arguments and that the appellate court will consider as it reviews the case. Anything in the record can be examined and considered. For the purpose of appellate review, any parts of the superior court trial that are not included in your designated record do not exist, will not be examined or considered by the appellate court, and cannot be used by either side to support their cases.
For limited civil cases The appellant can use Notice Designating Record on Appeal (Limited Civil Case) (form APP-103) to designate the record, and the respondent can use Respondent’s Notice Designating Record on Appeal – Limited Civil Case (form APP-110). For unlimited civil cases The appellant can use Appellant’s Notice Designating Record on Appeal (Unlimited Civil Case) (form APP-003) to designate the record, and the respondent can use Respondent’s Notice Designating Record on Appeal – Unlimited Civil Case (form APP-010). For certain types of juvenile appeals (dependency and delinquency), what is included in the record is set by the rules of court so you do not have to worry about this step. Choosing what to include in the record There are certain documents that must be included in the record on appeal, like the trial court judgment or order that is being appealed. (See rule 8.832(a) of the California Rules of Court for the documents that must be included in the record on appeal in limited civil cases (civil cases involving an amount that is $35,000 or less) and rule 8.122(b) for the documents that must be included in appeals in unlimited civil cases (such as civil cases involving an amount over $35,000 or family law cases).) In most civil appeals, the parties choose (designate) what other things are included in the record. What you choose to include in the record depends on the issues that are being appealed. You need to think about the trial court proceedings, what rulings are being appealed, and what part of the record will best tell the appellate court about these rulings. Whether you are appealing or responding to an appeal, make sure the record includes all the information relevant to your position and the issues that the appellate court will review. These are the items you should designate for the record. Talk to a lawyer if you need advice about what would be best in your case.