Program Description

An overview of writ petitions to the California Courts of Appeal and how to use them to challenge pre-trial rulings in criminal and civil cases.

This program is designed to give both civil and criminal attorneys the basics of pre-trial writ petitions, including what to challenge by writ petition, when to do it, how to do it, and potential outcomes.

About the Speakers

GISSELLE BOURNES

Gisselle Bourns is a Lead Appellate Court Attorney at the First District Court of Appeal and the writ attorney for Division Three of the court.

She previously worked for an independent federal agency and for a private law firm.

Gisselle clerked in the Hawaii Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. She graduated from Berkeley Law.

SUSAN HORST

For over 31 years, Susan Horst was the writ attorney for Division One of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District.

Since 2013 she has been in private practice in San Francisco consulting on pre-trial motions, as well as writs and appeals in civil and criminal cases. She is Counsel with the Complex Appellate Litigation Group (www.calg.com).

Susan is a frequent lecturer on writ practice. She is the Co-Author Chapter 7, Writs of Mandate and Prohibition Defined, Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) Appeals and Writs in Criminal Cases and Chapter 25, Termination of Prosecution Without Judgment, CEB Criminal Law, Procedure and Practice, as well as numerous training materials for continuing education lectures.

Prior to her service at the Court of Appeal, Susan was an Assistant District Attorney in San Francisco where she tried misdemeanor and felony jury trials and served as head of the vice crimes unit.

Flyer available here