New SBCA Appellate Section Holds Luncheon

On October 3, 2005, the newly-formed appellate section of the County Bar held its second event, a luncheon at the Holiday Inn. The event was well attended and included a lively and informative discussion by a highly-qualified panel of guest speakers. The panel consisted of Justice Richard Sims of the Third District Court of Appeal, and certified appellate specialist attorneys Brenden Ishikawa and Kimball Sargeant. The panel spoke on "Exploring the Riddle of Harmless Error."

This very important topic highlights the fact that, while a trial court may have committed one or more errors, the Court of Appeal must analyze whether the errors were harmless or prejudicial. The panel discussed first the concept of per se reversible error in which "structural" errors in the fundamental fairness of the trial process require reversal. The panel's discussion was accompanied by a handout setting forth examples of per se reversible errors.

The panel also covered the standards for harmless error, including the standard for federal constitutional error found in Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18 and the standard for state error found in People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818. The panel then discussed examples of specific types of errors, including instructional error, evidentiary error, procedural error and cumulative error. The discussion closed with a reminder to appellate counsel to be sure to brief the question of prejudice in addressing issues on appeal because "prejudice is not presumed and the burden is on the appealing party to demonstrate that a miscarriage of justice has occurred . . ." Paterno v. State of California (1999) 74 Cal.App.4th 68, 106.

Look for future programs of the appellate section, including a social event tentatively scheduled for the evening of December 7, 2005 in the foyer of the Third District Court of Appeal, 914 Capitol Mall.

November / December 2005