LA courts to streamline appellate brief delivery

A designated email account for filing of appellate briefs will begin operation at the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Sept. 2. It is one of a series of innovations the court has been implementing to make procedures faster and easier for attorneys and the public.

Parties shall submit one copy of their brief electronically to appellatebriefs@lacourt.org, the court said in a news release. Court staff will monitor the resource account ... and forward the briefs to the applicable judicial officer. After the Record on Appeal is delivered to the reviewing court, a briefing schedule is sent to the parties.

"This resource account is for the sole purpose of receiving appellate briefs. Any other documents submitted to the account will not be processed, and any inquiries will not receive a response," the court said in a news release.

The new resource account will streamline the delivery process and ensure compliance with California Rules of Court, which require that one copy of each brief be served on the trial court clerk for delivery to the trial court judicial officer, the announcement said.

The court is also making it easier to appear remotely. Its Mental Health Division began its transition to the court's remote appearance platform, LACourtConnect, on Monday. In July the court launched a pilot program allowing court reporters to work remotely from designated offices. LACourtConnect, a first for California, is intended to mitigate the court reporter shortage.

The court debuted a streamlined website in July with an interactive "CourtHelp" chat tool, better translation options and a mobile-responsive layout.

In June, the court replaced Webex with LACourtConnect for criminal courtroom appearances, and extended the platform to the Appellate Division.

The court began this modernization push in November 2024 with the installation of high definition display screens, Ultra-high-definition cameras for remote video clarity, touch-enabled, annotation-capable monitors at counsel tables and witness stands, document cameras and more.