Practice Tip Of The Day

To begin an appeal in pretty much any case pending in pretty much any court, a doucment called a "notice of appeal" needs to be filed. The document is very short, usually a one-pager. Typically, the language and format are a little bit more formal than this recent example of an appeal filed in a habeas corpus case, but this is probably enough to get the process started:


A copy should also be filed with the appellate court, in this case the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, concurrent with the filing in the trial court. Note to professional practicioners: the statement of grounds for the appeal need not be stated at all, but if you're going to set forth the grounds, "You're not getting away with this shit that easy" is probably insufficiently precise to place the adverse party on notice of the grounds for the appeal. Still, the guy gets brownie points for zeal.