Expanding Your Appointment & Cunningham "Me Too" Petitions for Certiorari
Updated: 03/14/06
Ordinarily, for both the Third and Fifth District Courts of Appeal, appointed attorneys need to file motions to expand their appointments to seek compensation for all writ petition work, including both habeas corpus and certiorari.
Good news! In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's grant of certiorari in Cunningham v. California (Apr. 18, 2005, A103501) unpublished opinion, cert. granted 2/21/06 (05-6551), both of our courts have agreed not to require counsel to file the motion to expand the appointment if appointed counsel can prepare a Cunningham petition for cert. in 4.0 hours or less. If at any point before or during the preparation of the petition and related activity counsel believes that 4.0 hours may not be sufficient time to complete the petition for cert., a motion to expand should be submitted as soon as possible directly to the Court of Appeal. The expansion motion must include 1) an explanation for the need for more time, and 2) an indication of how many hours are needed. The 4.0 hours includes not only the petition, but also the time for obtaining the In Forma Pauperis declaration from the appellant (required to avoid having to pay a filing fee for which counsel would not be reimbursed).