Published Articles

Herb Fox is a prolific and skilled writer with scores of articles on appellate law and procedure to his credit. The articles listed below appeared in Santa Barbara Lawyer. Click on the pdf icon next to each article to view or download it.

Risky Reliance on Clerk’s Erroneous Advice
Santa Barbara Lawyer (February 2009)
Can an attorney rely on erroneous procedural advice from a court clerk?

The Sound of One Juror Clapping? Verdict Affirmed!
Santa Barbara Lawyer (September, 2008)
What is the sound of one juror clapping during closing argument? Unless there is actual prejudice, that sound is the Court of Appeal affirming the verdict.

Reviewing Standards of Review
Santa Barbara Lawyer (July 2008)
The California Supreme Court scolds a Court of Appeal for misapplying the appellate standard of review.

Fighting Fees in Probate Court
Santa Barbara Lawyer (June 2008)
One lawyer’s successful quest to challenge a court filing fee.

Blessed Be the Anti-Slapp Motion
Santa Barbara Lawyer (March 2008)
The anti-SLAPP statute is a full employment act for appellate counsel.

Jurisdictional Default
Santa Barbara Lawyer (February 2007)
Can a Superior Court Judge vacate a default judgement entered by a different Court in another County?

How to Create Reversible Error Without Trying
Santa Barbara Lawyer (December 2006)
Sometimes, choosing your battle carefully is half the battle, even at the Court of Appeal. That's a lesson learned hard
recently by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney.

Writs, Prayers and Appellate Facts and Figures
Santa Barbara Lawyer (July 2006)
What's the best way to get a published opinion in a civil case from the Court of Appeal in Ventura? The secret is to convince the Court to accept for review a discretionary writ petition; last year Division Six published nearly 45% of its written opinions resulting from writ petitions.

No Fishing Zone for Non-Custodial Parent
Santa Barbara Lawyer (March 2006)
The State Supreme Court handed down a sea change in family law "move-away" cases last month, reversing a decision by Justice Arthur Gilbert holding that a trial court must provide an evidentiary hearing to a non-custodial parent who objects to the custodial parent's plans to move out of state with the child.

Cute Appellate Maneuvers Bite Back
Santa Barbara Lawyer (February 2006)
Here's another one for the "I can't beliecve someone prosecuted this appeal" file.

Ninth Circuit Tidbits from Those in the Know
Santa Barbara Lawyer (December 2005)
Behind every good appellate judge is a team of law clerks who do the messy job of actually reading the record and the law, checking the accuracy of the briefs, and drafting the bench memoranda that become the template for the written opinion.

Appellate Counsel: Use 'Em Or Lose 'Em
Santa Barbara Lawyer (December 2004)
At the Bar Association's "Meet the Justices" event last month, Justice Ken Yegan ruffled a few feathers when he declared that most of the cases on the Court of Appeal's docket don't belong there.

When Does a Non-Appealable Order Gain Appeal?
Santa Barbara Lawyer (March 2005)
In the world of civil appeals, judgements and orders came in two colors: appealable and non-appealable. Not anymore.

What The Court Needs To Know About Your Appeal
Santa Barbara Lawyer (June 2004)
Imagine the drudgery. Day in, day out, appellate judges throughout the country (and their hapless clerks) wade through tens of thousands of pages of dense, dry prose in pleadings that promise to be "brief" but are anything but.

When is a Writ Worthy? Lawyers are Dying to Know
Santa Barbara Lawyer (April 2002)
There are certainties in law as in life: death, taxes, and the denial of your writ petition by the Court of Appeal. But one Ventura litigant recently found that the death of his attorney changed the nature of fate, resulting in the rarest of appellate events: a worthy writ.