§ 936.1.Notice of Appeal In Civil Commitment Or Other Proceeding Wherein Appellant Entitled to Appointment of Counsel On Appeal

Civil commitment appeals sit at the edge of civil and criminal procedure, and this section reflects that. It applies to any civil commitment proceeding, or other civil proceeding, where an appellant who is indigent would be entitled to have counsel appointed for the appeal.

Rather than following the ordinary civil notice-of-appeal procedure described elsewhere in this title, an appeal in one of these proceedings has to be initiated by filing a notice of appeal that conforms to Penal Code § 1240.1 — the provision that governs appointment of appellate counsel in the criminal and quasi-criminal context. That cross-reference keeps the mechanics of starting the appeal aligned with the right to appointed counsel the appellant may have.