ABOUT ADI
Appellate Defenders, Inc., is a non-profit law firm administering the appointed counsel system for the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, in California. The office operates under a contract with the California Judicial Council.
The central goals of the office are to improve the quality of indigent representation on appeal and to assist the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, in administering criminal and juvenile delinquency appeals and civil appeals in which one or more parties may be entitled to appointed counsel. The guiding concept is to engage the resources of the staff’s experienced appellate practitioners to oversee this work and attempt to assure consistently satisfactory representation of all clients represented by appointed counsel.
In fulfillment of our goals, the office performs the following basic functions: (1) processing notices of appeal, seeking background information about cases, ascertaining the need for appointed counsel, and coordinating with the superior court for delivery of transcripts and other documents; (2) recruitment and classification of private attorneys available to accept appointment; (3) classification of cases and selection of appropriately qualified counsel for the cases; (4) systematic and substantial assistance to appointed counsel in “assisted” cases; (5) assistance to appointed counsel in “independent” cases as needed; (6) written evaluation of appointed counsel’s performance in every appointed case; (7) review of appointed counsel’s claims for compensation and recommendation to the Judicial Council as to the compensation to be paid; (8) direct representation of clients in selected cases; (9) development of resources for appellate practitioners, including our extensive website, the Appellate Practice Manual, practice articles, sample forms and motions, MCLE presentations and materials, and news alerts; and (10) assistance to and coordination with the Court of Appeal, Judicial Council, other projects, trial counsel and courts, and other participants in the justice system.