Guide to the Appellate Process

[jane]

This is a link to a document from the CA Attorney General. It details the steps in the appellate process for a capital case.

It's titled "A Victim's Guide to the Capital Case Process."

The only victims in this case are Laci, Conner and Scott Peterson, in spite of all the others who claim to be victims.

This is on page 3 of the document; and we hope that this is where the case is resolved and Scott Peterson's innocence is established.

http://ag.ca.gov/publications/pdf/deathpen.pdf

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Direct Appeal
A defendant who is sentenced to death is entitled to an automatic, non-waivable, direct appeal to the California Supreme Court. The California Supreme Court must find at least one new attorney, but usually two, for the defendant. At this point the defendant is called the “appellant” and the State is called the “respondent” in the official court proceedings. The record of the trial, including all of the papers filed in the trial court, the evidence presented at trial, and the written report of all the trial testimony, is compiled and filed in the Supreme Court. The defendant’s (appellant’s) attorney files a brief, in which it is argued that error occurred during the trial and that the defendant’s conviction and/or death sentence should be reversed. Then the Attorney General’s Office files the State’s (respondent’s) brief answering the claims in the defendant’s brief. The defendant has an opportunity to file a reply to the State’s brief. There is an oral argument before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court reviews the briefs, considers the written and oral arguments advanced by both sides, and, within 90 days after argument, issues a written opinion that addresses each of the defendant’s claims. Based on its resolution of the claims, the court affirms or reverses the conviction, the sentence, or both. If the
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court affirms the conviction and sentence, the defendant may petition the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. The United States Supreme Court will then determine whether the petition for certiorari review presents issues it needs to resolve by either agreeing or refusing to hear the case.