Can I challenge a decision/action by the county superior court?

Yes. If you are on probation and would like to challenge a court’s revocation decision or related action, you can file a direct appeal on “any order made after judgment, affecting the substantial rights of the party.”[879]

STEP 1: To file an appeal, you must file a notice of appeal in the superior court within 60 calendar days after the court’s decision.[880]

STEP 2: When you file a timely notice of appeal, the County Superior Court will prepare a record of the probation revocation proceedings consisting of all the documents filed in the court and transcripts of the hearings and provide these documents to you, the court, the state (the prosecutor). In a direct appeal, the court must appoint an attorney to represent you for free if you do not have enough money to pay for one. If you wish to have a court-appointed attorney, you must file a timely notice of appeal within 60 calendar days after the court’s decision. For a list of County Superior Courts, visit: http://www.courts.ca.gov/find-my-court.htm.

STEP 3: If you do not file a timely notice of appeal or if your case involves information outside the court record, then you may be able to raise the issues in a state court petition for a writ of habeas corpus (see explanation in Appendix K, on PG. 280).

There are many issues that you can raise in a challenge to a revocation proceeding or decision. Claims can be based on violations of state or federal constitutional due process rights, California or federal statutes, or California administrative rules. For example, a person could argue that the revocation hearing is being unreasonably delayed, that he or she was denied the right to cross-examine witnesses at the hearing, or that the revocation decision was not supported by the evidence. Unfortunately, in most cases, the process for raising such challenges will be too slow to provide any relief before you serve the entire revocation term. However, you may still benefit by getting your revocation case re-heard, getting revocations vacated, and/or getting the parole department to subtract the time served for the revocation from your parole “controlling discharge date” (CDD).

  1. 879

    Cal. Penal Code § 1237(b).

  2. 880

    Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.308.