A notice of appeal from a felony conviction must be filed within 60 days after the judgment.[107]  The time limit is jurisdictional, and no appeal will generally be possible unless the notice of appeal is filed on time.[108]  Concerning the filing of a late notice of appeal, see § 6.21, infra.  If the appeal follows a plea of guilty or no contest, the notice of appeal must contain a statement of grounds of appeal, and the defendant must obtain a certificate of probable cause from the trial court.[109]  Failure to seek a timely certificate of probable cause will bar the court of appeals from hearing the case.[110]  (If the appeal is from the denial of a motion to vacate the judgment, a certificate of probable cause for appeal is probably not required.)[111]

[107] Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 31(a).

[108] An order denying a motion to recall the sentence, filed within 120 days of sentence pursuant to Penal Code § 1170(d), is not appealable and does not extend the time to file the notice of appeal within 60 days of the original judgment.  People v. Pritchett (1993) 20 Cal.App.4th 190, 24 Cal.Rptr.2d 391.  See Chapter 8, infra.

[109] Penal Code § 1237.5, effective for notices of appeal filed on and after January 1, 1992. 

[110] People v. Aguilar (2003) 112 Cal.App.4th 111, 4 Cal.Rptr.3d (defendants failed to seek certificates of probable cause to appeal convictions following guilty pleas within 60 days of convictions, as required by Penal Code § 1237.5; constructive filing rule of In re Benoit (1973) 10 Cal.3d 72 did not apply because here trial counsel did not agree to file appeal or certificate of probable cause,  and appellants were not incarcerated. Fact that superior court did issue the certificate belatedly, and attempted to make it "nunc pro tunc" did not cure the defect).

[111] People v. Kraus (1975) 47 Cal.App.3d 568, 121 Cal.Rptr.11; but see People v. Castelan (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1185.  If counsel seeks a certificate, just in case one is required, the application must be filed within the same time as the notice of appeal.

STATISTICS " REPORT: IMMIGRATION UP, CRIME DOWN IN CALIFORNIA
While immigration has gone up in California, crime has gone down. So says the Berkeley Center for Justice at UC Berkeley School of Law in a 15-page report compiling recent data from throughout California. In Where Is the Fire? Immigrants and Crime in California, author Barry Krisberg examines county-level data regarding immigration and crime. San Diego County received 258,973 foreign-born persons from 1991-2008 and its violent crime rate went down by 58 percent and the rate of serious property crimes declined by 35 percent. Where Is the Fire at 5. The crime rate dropped even more dramatically for Los Angeles County during this period: 68 percent for violent crime and 42 percent for serious property crimes while absorbing almost 1.4 million immigrants. Where Is the Fire at 7. Several other counties saw similar trends, Krisberg reports. While Krisberg is careful to note that these data do not prove that the influx of immigrants results in decreased crime (several other factors are relevant), these data offer no support for the assertion that immigration increases crime, particularly violent crime. Where Is the Fire at 8. Counteracting the rampant depiction of immigrants as people who are especially prone to criminality, as this report does, is a worthwhile goal in and of itself.

APPEAL " CERTIFICATE OF PROBABLE CAUSE " LATE CERTIFICATE
Can you get a late Cert of PC? Under People v. Mendez (1999) 19 Cal. 4th 1084, you have to get the Cert of PC within 60 days. However, Mendez doesn't really deal with that judge-made creature that we use all the time, the "Motion for Relief from Default" which allows us, when granted, to seek leave to file a late appeal notice. This strategem works particulary well where you can demonstrate IAC on the part of trial counsel; it might also work if you can argue for an unforeseeable change in the law (Placencia). It's basically addressed to the equitable authority of the Court of Appeal. Alternatively, if it's based on IAC, you could bring a habeas, in either the trial court or the Court of Appeal, seeking, as a remedy for IAC, leave to file a late appeal notice with a Cert of PC.

Fourth Circuit

VEHICLES " APPEAL -- PEOPLE HAVE STANDING TO APPEAL WHEN CHALLENGING A SENTENCE
People v. Labora (4th Dist., Dec. 8, 2010) 90 Cal.App.4th 907, 118 Cal.Rptr.3d 606 (the prosecution has standing to appeal when challenging the legality of a sentence).

VEHICLES " APPEAL -- PEOPLE HAVE STANDING TO APPEAL WHEN CHALLENGING A SENTENCE
People v. Labora (4th Dist., Dec. 8, 2010) 90 Cal.App.4th 907, 118 Cal.Rptr.3d 606 (the prosecution has standing to appeal when challenging the legality of a sentence).

Lower Courts of Ninth Circuit

CAL POST CON " DIRECT APPEAL " JURISDICTION " FELONY REDUCED TO MISDEMEANOR
People v. Rivera, ___ Cal.App.4th ___, ___ Cal.Rptr.3d ___, 2015 WL 392859 (6th Dist. Jan. 29, 2015) (where original conviction was a felony, but the conviction was later reduced to a misdemeanor, the Court of Appeal has appellate jurisdiction); see People v. Lynall, ___ Cal.App.4th ___, ___ Cal.Rptr.3d ___, 2015 WL 392898 (6th Dist. Jan. 29, 2015) (court of appeal has appellate jurisdiction over case in which defendant was originally charged by information with a felony, or in a complaint certified to the Superior Court under Penal Code 859a). Cal Crim Def 20.28

Other

CAL POST CON"DIRECT APPEAL"CERTIFICATE OF PROBABLE CAUSE TO APPEAL
People v. Briseno, 203 Cal.App.4th 1347, 138 Cal.Rptr.3d 283 (6th Dist. Feb. 28, 2012) (dismissing defendant's appeal for lack of a timely obtained certificate of probable cause, so court was without jurisdiction to address the appeal notwithstanding a federal district court order that the defendant be allowed to appeal); compare Briseno v. Woodford (9th Cir.2010) 413 Fed.Appx. 2 (circuit court found the trial courts failure to advise the defendant at plea of the mandatory minimum sentence, which was prejudicial because there was a reasonable chance he would be successful on appeal.).

STATISTICS " REPORT: IMMIGRATION UP, CRIME DOWN IN CALIFORNIA
While immigration has gone up in California, crime has gone down. So says the Berkeley Center for Justice at UC Berkeley School of Law in a 15-page report compiling recent data from throughout California. In Where Is the Fire? Immigrants and Crime in California, author Barry Krisberg examines county-level data regarding immigration and crime. San Diego County received 258,973 foreign-born persons from 1991-2008 and its violent crime rate went down by 58 percent and the rate of serious property crimes declined by 35 percent. Where Is the Fire at 5. The crime rate dropped even more dramatically for Los Angeles County during this period: 68 percent for violent crime and 42 percent for serious property crimes while absorbing almost 1.4 million immigrants. Where Is the Fire at 7. Several other counties saw similar trends, Krisberg reports. While Krisberg is careful to note that these data do not prove that the influx of immigrants results in decreased crime (several other factors are relevant), these data offer no support for the assertion that immigration increases crime, particularly violent crime. Where Is the Fire at 8. Counteracting the rampant depiction of immigrants as people who are especially prone to criminality, as this report does, is a worthwhile goal in and of itself.

APPEAL " CERTIFICATE OF PROBABLE CAUSE " LATE CERTIFICATE
Can you get a late Cert of PC? Under People v. Mendez (1999) 19 Cal. 4th 1084, you have to get the Cert of PC within 60 days. However, Mendez doesn't really deal with that judge-made creature that we use all the time, the "Motion for Relief from Default" which allows us, when granted, to seek leave to file a late appeal notice. This strategem works particulary well where you can demonstrate IAC on the part of trial counsel; it might also work if you can argue for an unforeseeable change in the law (Placencia). It's basically addressed to the equitable authority of the Court of Appeal. Alternatively, if it's based on IAC, you could bring a habeas, in either the trial court or the Court of Appeal, seeking, as a remedy for IAC, leave to file a late appeal notice with a Cert of PC.