Supreme Court Legal Process

The California Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and six associate justices. The Chief Justice may assign justices of lower courts as pro tempore justices to assist the court when a regular justice is absent or disqualified in a particular case. The Chief Justice also designates an associate justice to serve as Acting Chief Justice in instances of absence, disqualification, or recusal.
The work of the Supreme Court consists primarily of determining what cases the court will review and deciding those cases by written opinions after holding oral argument. Appeals in all death penalty cases are automatically taken to the Supreme Court. Other cases normally come before the court either in the form of petitions for review of decisions by the Courts of Appeal or as petitions for extraordinary writs of mandate, prohibition, certiorari, or habeas corpus. In these cases, the court must decide whether to accept the matter for decision.
DISCRETIONARY DECISION WHETHER TO ACCEPT A CASE:...