(a) In every county there is an appellate division of the superior court consisting of three judges or, when the Chief Justice finds it necessary, four judges. The Chief Justice shall assign judges to the appellate division for specified terms pursuant to rules, not inconsistent with statute, adopted by the Judicial Council to promote the independence and quality of each appellate division. Each judge assigned to the appellate division of a superior court shall be a judge of that court, a judge of the superior court of another county, or a judge retired from the superior court or a court of higher jurisdiction in this state. The Chief Justice shall designate one of the judges of each appellate division as the presiding judge of the division.
§ 77.Appellate division; Term; Expenses; Jurisdiction; Powers; Rules
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 4. Superior Courts · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 77 establishes each county’s appellate division of the superior court — a three- or four-judge panel assigned by the Chief Justice that hears appeals from the superior court in panels of three, sets expense reimbursement for its judges, and defines the division’s jurisdiction and rulemaking authority.
Full Text of § 77
(b) In each appellate division, no more than three judges shall participate in a hearing or decision. The presiding judge of the division shall designate the three judges who shall participate.
(c) In addition to their other duties, the judges designated as members of the appellate division of the superior court shall serve for the period specified in the order of designation. Whenever a judge is designated to serve in the appellate division of the superior court of a county other than the county in which that judge was elected or appointed as a superior court judge, or if the judge is retired, in a county other than the county in which the judge resides, the judge shall receive expenses for travel, board, and lodging. If the judge is out of the judge’s county overnight or longer, by reason of the designation, that judge shall be paid a per diem allowance in lieu of expenses for board and lodging in the same amounts as are payable for those purposes to justices of the Supreme Court under the rules of the Department of General Services. In addition, a retired judge shall receive for the time so served, amounts equal to that which the judge would have received if the judge had been assigned to the superior court of the county.
(d) The concurrence of two judges of the appellate division of the superior court shall be necessary to render the decision in every case in, and to transact any other business except business that may be done at chambers by the presiding judge of, the division. A judgment of the appellate division in an appeal shall contain a brief statement of the reasons for the judgment. A judgment stating only “affirmed” or “reversed” is insufficient. The presiding judge shall convene the appellate division when necessary. The presiding judge shall also supervise its business and transact any business that may be done at chambers.
(e) The appellate division of the superior court has jurisdiction on appeal in all cases in which an appeal may be taken to the superior court or the appellate division of the superior court as provided by law, except where the appeal is a retrial in the superior court.
(f) The powers of each appellate division shall be the same as are now or may hereafter be provided by law or rule of the Judicial Council relating to appeals to the appellate division of the superior courts.
(g) The Judicial Council shall promulgate rules, not inconsistent with law, to promote the independence of, and govern the practice and procedure and the disposition of the business of, the appellate division.
(h) Notwithstanding subdivisions (b) and (d), appeals from convictions of traffic infractions may be heard and decided by one judge of the appellate division of the superior court.
Plain-English Summary
Not every California appeal goes to a Court of Appeal. Many go to the appellate division of the superior court itself, and § 77 is what creates and governs that body in every county.
Each county has an appellate division of three judges, expanded to four when the Chief Justice finds it necessary. The Chief Justice assigns judges — who may come from that county’s own superior court, another county’s superior court, or the ranks of retired judges — to fixed terms under rules meant to protect the division’s independence, and designates one judge as presiding judge. Only three judges sit on any given case, chosen by the presiding judge, and their decision requires two votes to control. A judgment must include a brief statement of reasons; a bare "affirmed" or "reversed" will not do.
The section also covers the practical side of judicial service: judges assigned outside their home county are reimbursed for travel, board, and lodging, with retired judges paid as if assigned to that county’s own superior court. The appellate division has jurisdiction over appeals that the law sends to the superior court or its appellate division, except retrials, and the Judicial Council both defines its further powers and adopts rules governing its practice and procedure. Traffic infraction appeals are the one exception to the usual three-judge, two-vote requirement — a single judge can hear and decide those.
Official Comment
The following official comments are published by the California Law Revision Commission (and, for a few older sections, its predecessor Code Commissioners) alongside the statute itself — not commentary from this site.
1998 Law Revision Commission Comment. Section 77 is amended to accommodate unification of the municipal and superior courts in a county. Cal Const Art IV § 5(e). Subdivision (a) requires adoption of court rules intended to promote the independence and quality of judges serving in the appellate division. See Cal Const Art IV § 4 (expressly recognizing the goal of promoting the independence of the appellate division). Rules may provide relevant factors to be used in making appointments to the appellate division, such as length of service as a judge, reputation within the unified court, and degree of separateness of the appellate division workload from the judge’s regular assignments (e.g., a superior court judge who routinely handles large numbers of misdemeanors might ordinarily not serve in the appellate division). Review by a panel of judges might include judges assigned from another county in appropriate circumstances, or even by a panel of appellate division judges from different superior courts who sit in turn in each of the superior courts in the “circuit.” Subdivision (b) continues the rule that the appellate division sits in panels of three. A judge may not participate in appellate review of any proceeding that the judge tried or heard. Section 170.1(b). Subdivision (e) is amended to reflect elimination of the justice court. Cal Const Art IV §§ 1, 5(b). It is also amended to specify the jurisdiction of the appellate division in a unified superior court. For guidance on which civil cases are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the appellate division, see Section 904.2 (taking appeal in limited civil case) and Cal Const Art IV §§ 11. Section 77 is amended throughout to replace references to the appellate department with references to the appellate division, and to replace references to the Chairperson of the Judicial Council with references to the Chief Justice. This is consistent with the terminology used in Cal Const Art IV.
1999 Law Revision Commission Comment. Subdivision (h) of Section 77 is amended to refer more precisely to the appellate division. See Cal Const Art IV § 4.
2002 Law Revision Commission Comment. Subdivision (c) of Section 77 is amended to reflect enactment of the Trial Court Funding Act. See Gov C §§ 77003 (“court operations” defined), 77200 (state funding of trial court operations). Subdivisions (e) and (h) are amended to reflect unification of the municipal and superior courts pursuant to Cal Const Art IV § 5(e). Subdivision (i) is deleted as obsolete.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many judges sit on the appellate division of a superior court?
The division itself has three judges, or four if the Chief Justice finds that necessary, but only three participate in any given hearing or decision.
What does it take for the appellate division to decide a case?
Two of the three participating judges must agree, and the judgment must include a brief statement of the reasons for the decision — writing only "affirmed" or "reversed" does not satisfy that requirement.
Can one judge decide an appeal in the appellate division?
Only for appeals from traffic infraction convictions — § 77 lets a single judge of the appellate division hear and decide those.
Who assigns judges to the appellate division?
The Chief Justice, drawing from that county’s superior court, another county’s superior court, or retired judges, under rules the Judicial Council adopts to promote the division’s independence.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1955 ch 527 § 1. Amended Stats 1961 ch 937 § 1; Stats 1976 ch 1288 § 1; Stats 1984 ch 704 § 1; Stats 1998 ch 931 § 21 (SB 2139), effective September 28, 1998, ch 932 § 11.5 (AB 1094); Stats 1999 ch 344 § 2 (SB 210), effective September 7, 1999, ch 853 § 1.5 (SB 832); Stats 2002 ch 784 § 26 (SB 1316); Stats 2006 ch 538 § 60 (SB 1852), effective January 1, 2007; Stats 2014 ch 58 § 1 (AB 1932), effective January 1, 2015; Stats 2016 ch 31 § 10 (SB 836), effective June 27, 2016; Stats 2018 ch 92 § 40 (SB 1289), effective January 1, 2019.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: appellate division superior court Californiaappellate division jurisdictiontraffic infraction appeal one judge