4th District Court of Appeal

Latest News

October 4, 2021

SANTA ANA—Associate Justice David A. Thompson of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three will retire from the court on October 15, 2021. “After 24 years on the bench, I am looking forward to returning to the private sector for the next chapter in my legal career,” Justice Thompson stated.

Justice Thompson served on the appellate court for 9 years and authored more than 700 opinions covering the full spectrum of civil, commercial, and criminal litigation. Previously, he served 15 years as a trial judge in the Orange County Superior Court where he presided over hundreds of civil trials and heard thousands of civil motions. Click here to read the full story.

September 30, 2021

Presiding Justice Kathleen E. O’Leary of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three will celebrate 40 years as a California judicial officer on October 2, 2021.

Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., appointed Justice O’Leary to the West Orange County Municipal Court on October 2, 1981. Governor George Deukmejian appointed her to the Orange County Superior Court five years later. In 1997, her colleagues elected her Presiding Judge of the Orange County Superior Court, making her the first woman in Orange County to hold that position. Her colleagues reelected her to that position two more times. Click here to read full story.

July 22, 2021

Effective September 20, 2021, the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, is restoring in-person arguments considering updated state and local public health guidance. In accordance with state and local public health guidance, face coverings in the courthouse will be required for all visitors regardless of vaccination status. Those who are fully vaccinated may remove their masks only while presenting oral argument. Until further notice, the courtroom is open only to those parties presenting oral argument.

While in-person argument will return as the default method of appearance, in extraordinary cases permission to appear remotely may be granted by the Presiding Justice.

April 27, 2021

The Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two, recognizes Law Day and its Volunteer Attorney Mediators.

March 5, 2021

The 2021 dates for the Civil Appellate Self-Help Workshop are available at 2021 Workshop Dates.

August 25, 2020

A remote hearing is a court proceeding and thus, the expectation and requirement of the Fourth District is that all attorneys dress in professionally appropriate attire. Additionally, counsel are advised to be conscious of their background and are further encouraged to have an appropriate background or to use an appropriate virtual background. For remote appearances via BlueJeans in Divisions One and Two, instructions for adding a virtual background can be viewed at the BlueJeans Virtual Background article.

June 15, 2020

Supreme Court issues statement on equality and inclusion. The statement can be viewed at the California Courts Newsroom.

April 13, 2020

The Clerk’s Office in the Fourth District, Division One is currently open and staff are available to answer in-person questions or process paper filings.  The Clerk’s Offices for Divisions Two and Three remain open but are unable to answer in-person questions at this time. For all paper filings including emergency writs, if you are unable to file your papers electronically, you may use the drop-box located in the Clerk’s Office lobby in order to minimize in-person contact in light of COVID-19. The drop-box will be checked every hour. Should you have questions regarding your case, please contact us at San Diego (Div. 1) - 4DCA1ContactUs@jud.ca.gov, Riverside (Div. 2) 4DCA2ContactUs@jud.ca.gov, or Santa Ana (Div. 3) (714) 571-2600. Please be sure to note your case number in the subject line of the email. Alternatively, you may call the Clerk’s Offices during our normal business hours.

May 23, 2019

The Fourth District Court of Appeal is seeking attorneys to represent inmates in death penalty-related habeas corpus proceedings.  View for more information regarding applying for an appointment.

Case Information

The California Appellate Courts Case Information System provides case information for California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal cases. Case information is updated once an hour throughout the business day.

• 4th Appellate District Division 1 (Case number begins with D)
• 4th Appellate District Division 2 (Case number begins with E)
• 4th Appellate District Division 3 (Case number begins with G)

About Us

The 4th District is unique in that it is divided into three geographical divisions.

• Division One is located in San Diego and has jurisdiction over matters from Imperial and San Diego Counties.
• Division Two is located in Riverside and has jurisdiction over matters from Inyo, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
• Division Three is located in Santa Ana and has jurisdiction over matters from Orange County

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