The Ninth Circuit and Federal Appeals From California

California's Four Federal Districts

• The Northern District of California sits in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Eureka.
• The Eastern District of California sits in Sacramento and Fresno.
• The Central District of California sits in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Riverside.
• The Southern District of California sits in San Diego.

Federal judicial districts do not follow California's appellate-district lines, so a county's state appeals and its federal appeals may be heard in different cities.

• United States District Court — Northern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California cand.uscourts.gov
• United States District Court — Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of California caed.uscourts.gov
• United States District Court — Central District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Central District of California cacd.uscourts.gov
• United States District Court — Southern District of CaliforniaUnited States District Court for the Southern District of California casd.uscourts.gov

The Ninth Circuit

The Ninth Circuit is the largest of the federal courts of appeals, covering nine western states and two Pacific territories. It is headquartered at the James R. Browning United States Courthouse in San Francisco and also hears California cases at its Pasadena courthouse; panels sit in other circuit cities as well.

• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ca9.uscourts.gov

Rules and Procedure

Federal appeals are governed by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure together with the Ninth Circuit Rules and the court's Circuit Advisory Committee Notes. The notice of appeal is filed in the district court; the appeal is then opened in the Ninth Circuit, which manages briefing schedules, the mediation program in civil cases, motions, oral argument, and decision. The parties prepare excerpts of record rather than a clerk's transcript.

• Federal Rules of Appellate ProcedureUnited States Courts uscourts.gov
• Ninth Circuit — RulesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov

Electronic Filing

The Ninth Circuit opens new cases in its Appellate Case Management System and requires represented parties to file electronically through it using a PACER account; older cases remain in the court's prior CM/ECF system. The court publishes its filing requirements, forms, and guides for both systems.

• Ninth Circuit — Filing and FormsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ca9.uscourts.gov
• Ninth Circuit — Electronic FilingUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ca9.uscourts.gov

Further Review

After a Ninth Circuit panel decision, a party may petition for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc, and may then consider whether the case presents a federal question warranting a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States.

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