Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.852 · Article 1. Taking Appeals in Misdemeanor Cases
Notice of appeal
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Notice of appeal
(1) To appeal from a judgment or an appealable order of the trial court in a misdemeanor case, the defendant or the People must file a notice of appeal in the trial court. The notice must specify the judgment or order-or part of it-being appealed.
(2) If the defendant appeals, the defendant or the defendant's attorney must sign the notice of appeal. If the People appeal, the attorney for the People must sign the notice.
(3) The notice of appeal must be liberally construed in favor of its sufficiency.
(b) Notification of the appeal
(1) When a notice of appeal is filed, the trial court clerk must promptly send a notification of the filing to the attorney of record for each party and to any unrepresented defendant. The clerk must also send or deliver this notification to the appellate division clerk.
(2) The notification must show the date it was sent or delivered, the number and title of the case, the date the notice of appeal was filed, and whether the defendant was represented by appointed counsel.
(3) The notification to the appellate division clerk must also include a copy of the notice of appeal.
(4) A copy of the notice of appeal is sufficient notification under (1) if the required information is on the copy or is added by the trial court clerk.
(5) The sending of a notification under (1) is a sufficient performance of the clerk's duty despite the discharge, disqualification, suspension, disbarment, or death of the attorney.
(6) Failure to comply with any provision of this subdivision does not affect the validity of the notice of appeal.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2016.)
Rule 8.852 amended effective January 1, 2016; adopted effective January 1, 2009.
Advisory Committee Comment
Notice of Appeal (Misdemeanor) (form CR-132) may be used to file the notice of appeal required under this rule. This form is available at any courthouse or county law library or online at www.courts.ca.gov/forms.
Subdivision (a). The only orders that a defendant can appeal in a misdemeanor case are (1) orders granting or denying a motion to suppress evidence (Penal Code section 1538.5(j)); and (2) orders made after the final judgment that affects the substantial rights of the defendant (Penal Code section 1466).
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_852
- Text hash
- sha256 9130ccd89f5c0e5361a5678109c5502956ee5df502ab7114f9501956b6a8f4d3
- 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
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
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.