Talk:Supreme Court of California
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The statement "[f]inally, California courts have the power to 'depublish' their opinions..." is not correct. Only the California Supreme Court has the power to depublish an opinion. Most appellate opinions that come from the District Courts of Appeal are not published. The appellate courts do not have the power to depublish any opinions.
These are the rules of the game. "All opinions of the Supreme Court are published in the Official Reports." (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 976 (a).)
Opinions of a Court of Appeal or a Superior Court Appellate Division (which handle appeals from limited civil cases) are published in the Official Reports if a majority of the rendering court certify the opinion for publication before the decision is final in that court. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 976 (b).)
The Supreme Court may order that an opinion certified for publication is not to be published or that an opinion not certified is to be published. The Supreme Court may also order publication of an opinion, in whole or in part, at any time after granting review. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 976 (e).) This is part of the depublishing power of the California Supreme Court.
Probably 90 percent of the attorneys who practice law in California do not understand this power, and it is a power unique to the California Supreme Court. The doctrine of stare decisis still applies in California, however, other litigants are forbidden from relying on an unpublished case or a depublished case as authority. "[A]n opinion of a California Court of Appeal or superior court appellate division that is not certified for publication or ordered published must not be cited or relied on by a court or a party in any other action." (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 977 (a).)
Because all California Supreme Court opinions are published, all California Supreme Court opinions can be cited, and therefore are binding under the doctrine of stare decisis. By exercising its power to depublish opinions, the California Supreme Court is able to control common law development in California without having to grant a review hearing and ordering the case, the parties, and any appellate materials to come before it.
