Appellate Division
The Appellate Division provides support to the District Attorney’s Office through its work in the areas of motions practice, appellate practice, policy, ethics, legislation and public records. Appellate prosecutors handle motions, appeals, and writs, they serve as the legal advisor to the District Attorney's Office providing on-demand legal assistance to trial attorneys. Deputy District Attorney Laura Tanney is the division chief. In 2011, the 
division hired Gary Schons as senior law and policy advisor. Schons was a retired senior assistant Deputy Attorney General. Deputy District Attorney Bryn Kirvin continued in her position as the office-wide ethics coordinator, providing advice, assistance, and training to all staff in matters relating to ethics and professionalism in and out of the courtroom.
Last year, appellate attorneys assisted with numerous motions and briefs in the Superior Court and Court Of Appeal and responded to hundreds of inquiries from prosecutors and law enforcement officers seeking advice. Attorneys in our division provided support for many high profile cases and actively participated in the development of internal policies and procedures related to areas such as post-conviction discovery, public records requests, and the implementation of new legal precedents. The Appellate Division is also responsible for publishing tremendous resources for this office and prosecutors’ offices across the state, including the Autobrief authored by Deputy District Attorney Craig Fisher.
Significant cases and proceedings that were handled by the division include:
Dumanis, et al. v. The State of California, et.al.
In a landmark case, the District Attorney filed a lawsuit against the State and Governor’s office seeking to overturn Governor Schwarzenegger’s 11th hour commutation of Esteban Nuñez just prior to his leaving office, for failure to comply with the notice requirements required by the California Constitution through Marsy’s Law.
People v. Giminez
Deputy District Attorney Katy Gayle’s phenomenal work on this case resulted in the ability to successfully defeat habeas petitions filed in both the Superior Court and the Court of Appeal, which claimed that a new development in scientific evidence cast doubt on the conviction. For her efforts, Katy Gayle was awarded an Outstanding Prosecutor Award by the Deputy District Attorneys Association.
People v. Jernigan
In our ongoing mission to support trial deputies DDA Jim Atkins handled several legal responses in this cold case murder, all of which resolved in our favor.
The year was also noteworthy for the contributions made by our attorneys in drafting legislation to protect the integrity of the clemency process, authoring an amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in the area of professional responsibility and successfully appealing improper trial court rulings in the area of discovery. Attorneys in the division also participated in the California District Attorneys Association, serving on its board of directors, and on the appellate, legislation, legal issues and narcotics committees, and by assisting with a response to a nationwide effort to undermine the integrity of prosecutors.
