There are six district courts that handle appeals in California, known as appellate courts:

  • The First District Court of Appeal is located in San Francisco and has jurisdiction over Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Solano, and Sonoma Counties.
  • The Second District Court of Appeal has its primary courthouse in Los Angeles, which handles appeals from Los Angeles County, and its secondary courthouse in Ventura, which handles appeals from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties.
  • The Third District Court of Appeal is located in Sacramento and has jurisdiction over Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba Counties.
  • The Fourth District Court of Appeal has three geographical divisions. Division One is located in San Diego and has jurisdiction over Imperial and San Diego Counties. Division Two is located in Riverside and has jurisdiction over Inyo, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Division Three is located in Santa Ana and has jurisdiction over Orange County.
  • The Fifth District Court of Appeal is located in Fresno and has jurisdiction over Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne Counties.
  • The Sixth District Court of Appeal is located in San Jose and has jurisdiction over Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties.