About SDAP
SDAP is a law firm that does criminal and juvenile appeals for indigent clients in the San Jose area. We are not the court of appeal

Confidential Calls to Prisoners
In order to request a confidential telephone call with a prisoner, the attorney must submit a CDCR form 106-A with a cover letter on official letterhead explaining the purpose of the call. Counsel should consult section 3282(g) of title 15 of the California Code of Regulations.

CDCR FORM 106-A

eService Addresses
The email addressess for electronic service is available in the Directory under Practice Tools. For example, the Santa Clara DA Office has an email address for service, and it asks that the deputy DA who handled the matter also be served.     

DIRECTORY

SDAP Office Partially Staffed During Covid
About half of the SDAP staff is in the office Monday through Thursday, due to the Covid pandemic. The office remains closed to non-SDAP personnel. SDAP staff otherwise continues to work remotely. Feel free to communicate by email. We hope everyone remains safe and healthy.

See the February 2021 panel alert concerning records and other matters.

PANEL ALERT

EMAIL US

Continuing COVID-19 Effects on the Courts
The Sixth District Court of Appeal also continues to operate. Oral argument is being conducted by video. For more information, see the court's website.

The pandemic has caused delays in producing appellate records, especially in cases from Santa Clara County, where much of the staff that handles records has been layed off because of budget cuts. If a panel attorney is experiencing significant record delays, please contact the SDAP buddy.

COURT OF APPEAL

Mandatory Form for Augment Motions
The Sixth District Court of Appeal requires the use of a form proposed order for all motions to augment the record. The pdf fillable proposed order must be used in civil appeals as well. It should be noted that an attorney can request an extension of time to file the opening brief of more than 15 days after the record is filed. 

It is also important to note that the Court requests the form be submitted separately in the TrueFiling bundle and not attached to the augment motion. Please contact your SDAP buddy if you have any questions concerning the form.    

MANDATORY FORM

Omission Letters in Santa Clara County.
In addition to the filing of an omission letter in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, counsel must also email a courtesy copy to the superior court appeals unit at appealsclerks@scscourt.org with a sujbect line that reads "COURTESY COPY re [trial court case name & number & title of document]." This is now required by Santa Clara County Superior Court Local Rules, Appellate Rule 3C.

For more on omission letters and motions to augment,please refer to this guide.