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Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.391 · Article 2. Appeals From Superior Court Decisions in Death Penalty-Related Habeas Corpus Proceedings

Qualifications and appointment of counsel by the Court of Appeal

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)

(a) Qualifications

To be appointed by the Court of Appeal to represent an indigent petitioner not represented by the State Public Defender in an appeal under this article, an attorney must:

(1) Meet the minimum qualifications established by rule 8.652 for attorneys to be appointed to represent a person in a death penalty-related habeas corpus proceeding, including being willing to cooperate with an assisting counsel or entity that the court may designate;

(2) Be familiar with appellate practices and procedures in the California courts, including those related to death penalty appeals; and

(3) Not have represented the petitioner in the habeas corpus proceedings that are the subject of the appeal unless the petitioner and counsel expressly request, in writing, continued representation.

(b) Designation of assisting entity or counsel

Either before or at the time it appoints counsel, the court must designate an assisting entity or counsel.

Notes and commentary — not rule text

History

Rule 8.391 adopted effective April 25, 2019.

Source of truth

Edition
As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
Official file
https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/eight/rule8_391
Text hash
sha256 4e7ecf8a261ac40d4b0fbe344723ddcb101bd53eb89512c52b479f06573af7c8
Composed by
compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph

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Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.