SDAP has been informed by the Court of Appeal that in several, recent cases – particularly in juvenile cases – the Court has had difficulties getting the client’s address to send the client the standard letter advising them of their rights when a no-issue brief has been filed on their behalf. In a few cases, the proofs of service have not indicated that the client was ever served with the brief.
Please be sure that the proofs of service in all your briefs indicate that the client has been served with the brief. When a no issue brief is filed in a juvenile case, SDAP also encourages the panel attorney to include the client’s complete address on the proof of service. We understand that juvenile cases, in particular, present unique confidentiality concerns, which likely explains an understandable reluctance to include the address on the proof of service. With that said, juvenile files are confidential, and I have communicated at length with the court to get reassurance that the client’s address would never be shared with non-court personnel. Given the importance to the client of receiving notification of the filing of a no-issue brief, we encourage you to include the client’s address on the proof of service when a no-issue brief is filed in a juvenile case. If you still have hesitation and do not include the address on the proof, then we encourage you to call the Court of Appeal clerk and provide them the address immediately upon filing the brief. And, as always, if the Court of Appeal reaches out to you with questions, please promptly respond.
