The first stage is the preparation of the appellate record. Once an Appellant files a Notice of Appeal, the Superior Court clerk or the parties themselves prepare a Clerk's Transcript or Appendix, which is a copy of documents contained in the trial court's file. At the same time, the court reporter transcribes the courtroom proceedings into a Reporter's Transcript. The Clerk's Transcript or Appendix, and the Reporter's Transcript, together comprise the Appellate Record. Once the Appellate Record is complete, an original set is filed with the Court of Appeal, and copies are distributed to the parties.   The record procedures are different in the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The second stage begins after the Appellate Record is filed and served. This is the briefing stage. The Appellant must summarize the evidence and legal arguments in an Appellant's Brief. Once that is filed with the Court of Appeal, the Respondent (Appellee in federal courts) prepares and files a Respondent's Brief, answering the arguments raised by the Appellant. The Appellant gets the last word by filing a Reply Brief. These briefs are the most important documents in an appeal. The appeal will be won or lost, in part, because of the quality of the briefs and the arguments presented in them.

The third stage is the Oral Argument and Decision. Oral arguments are a matter of right in California state appeals, but are discretionary in federal Ninth Circuit Appeals. Although oral arguments rarely affect the outcome of the appeal, they do provide an opportunity to answer any questions the appellate court justices may have about your case. After the oral argument, the Court of Appeal issues its written Decision (also called an "Opinion") within 90 days (or longer in the Ninth Circuit).