Appeals statistics
Before you decide whether to start or defend an appeal, you may want to consider the overall statistics. That said, the chances of any specific appeal succeeding depend on the merits of that case. There are no quotas that the courts apply. When one considers reversal rates, one has to keep in mind that the overall statistics include a fair number of appeals that are hopeless and that never had any realistic chance of success. With that proviso, here are some numbers. (The source is the 2010 Court Statistics Report published by the Judicial Council of California.)
State court civil appeal reversal rates
In the 2008-2009 fiscal year — the most recent for which statistics are available — the California Court of Appeal affirmed in full 68% of civil cases it decided. A further 9% were affirmed with modification. The percentage of cases that were reversed was 19%. A further 3% were dismissed for some reason without being considered on the merits (this would include things like late or premature filings, attempted appeals of nonappealable orders, and failure to file briefs). (Numbers are apparently rounded to the nearest percentage, which is why they add up to 99%.)
In other words, almost one in five of civil appeals succeeds in California, with about half that number achieving some modification of the trial court outcome (although such modifications are often on technical grounds offering little, if any, meaningful relief to the appellant).
Those figures are fairly typical of the previous few years.
State court criminal appeal reversal rates
The reversal rate in criminal appeals is much lower than in civil ones. In the 2008-2009 fiscal year, only 4% of criminal appeals brought by defendants resulted in a reversal.
State court appeal durations
In the same period, the statewide median duration from the filing of the notice of appeal to the issuance of the written opinion was 434 days for civil appeals — that’s about 14.5 months. Criminal appeals take a little less time, with a median of 404 days.
Federal court numbers
Reversal rates in the Ninth Circuit — the federal appellate court covering California — are generally lower than in the California state courts, although statistics are not published.
Conclusion
If you are starting an appeal and find the reversal statistics unpromising, that doesn’t mean that you should give up. It just means that you need to be sure that you work with a lawyer who will make the best possible effort. Half-hearted efforts have no business in an appeal.
If you are defending an appeal, the statistics should not lull you into complacency. You do not want your case to be one of the approximately one-in-five that, in state court, are reversed.
State court civil appeal reversal rates
In the 2008-2009 fiscal year — the most recent for which statistics are available — the California Court of Appeal affirmed in full 68% of civil cases it decided. A further 9% were affirmed with modification. The percentage of cases that were reversed was 19%. A further 3% were dismissed for some reason without being considered on the merits (this would include things like late or premature filings, attempted appeals of nonappealable orders, and failure to file briefs). (Numbers are apparently rounded to the nearest percentage, which is why they add up to 99%.)
In other words, almost one in five of civil appeals succeeds in California, with about half that number achieving some modification of the trial court outcome (although such modifications are often on technical grounds offering little, if any, meaningful relief to the appellant).
Those figures are fairly typical of the previous few years.
State court criminal appeal reversal rates
The reversal rate in criminal appeals is much lower than in civil ones. In the 2008-2009 fiscal year, only 4% of criminal appeals brought by defendants resulted in a reversal.
State court appeal durations
In the same period, the statewide median duration from the filing of the notice of appeal to the issuance of the written opinion was 434 days for civil appeals — that’s about 14.5 months. Criminal appeals take a little less time, with a median of 404 days.
Federal court numbers
Reversal rates in the Ninth Circuit — the federal appellate court covering California — are generally lower than in the California state courts, although statistics are not published.
Conclusion
If you are starting an appeal and find the reversal statistics unpromising, that doesn’t mean that you should give up. It just means that you need to be sure that you work with a lawyer who will make the best possible effort. Half-hearted efforts have no business in an appeal.
If you are defending an appeal, the statistics should not lull you into complacency. You do not want your case to be one of the approximately one-in-five that, in state court, are reversed.
