Speeding up appeals

Today's Moskovitz on Appeal column is Resolving Appeals Faster:Is there anything you can do to get your case on appeal decided faster? Is there anything the appellate courts can do to improve the situation?

• According to the most recent Judicial Council report, the statewide median time for civil appeals was 506 days -- from the filing of the notice of appeal to final disposition. Ten percent took more than 842 days -- well over two years.
• The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is slightly faster, but still averages more than a year between notice of appeal and disposition. The court's most recent statistics show a median appeal time of 12.2 months -- roughly four months longer than the national average among federal courts of appeal[s].
• In the California courts, there are significant differences between districts and divisions. On average, it currently takes almost a year longer for a civil appeal to be decided in what has been the slowest court (the 6th District, which had several vacancies) than the fastest (the 2nd District, Division 5).
• Thus, it appears that the fault rarely lies with counsel. The main causes for delay arise within the appellate courts. Why? Probably large caseloads and judicial vacancies, not lack of productivity.
• The average appellate justice writes roughly 100 majority opinions per year, statewide. But there were more than 5,000 fully briefed appeals (of all types, civil and criminal) pending at the time of the last Judicial Council report. Part of the problem is that the Court of Appeal has been short-handed. In the first few months of 2018, there were as many as 12 appellate vacancies state-wide (out of 105 slots).

What to do? Well, "If you are entitled to an automatic preference, you should make that clear at the outset." E.g., the law accords preference to several types of appeals: "criminal appeals, probate matters, many juvenile and parental custody proceedings, proceedings to recover possession of real property, and several other specific categories."
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Today's Recorder has Judiciary Leaders Mum on Latest Sexual Misconduct Claims
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The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will hold a special sitting January 30, 2019, at the University of San Diego, in San Diego, California. Oral arguments will begin at 11 a.m. in the Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Center Theater at 5998 Alcala Park. (Judges McKeown, Christen and Watford.)
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LACBA's Senior Lawyers Section presents a dinner mcle program on Jan. 31: The History of the Zoot Suit Riots:  War, Prejudice, Criminal Prosecutions, Civil Disturbances and their Effects in the 1940s and Thereafter, featuring PJ Gilbert, Commissioner Blancarte, Evelina Fernandez (award-winning actress and writer who appears in the 1978 Zoot Suit play), and Sal Lopez (a veteran actor who also appeared in the original 1978 Zoot Suit).
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The 2d DCA will be holding an ACE program this Thursday with a class of students from outside LAUSD. (Another school scheduled to attend had to cancel because of the strike.)