Ferguson V. Keays

We ordered these three cases transferred to this court on our own motion (rule 28(a), Cal. Rules of Court) so that we might consider whether the Courts of Appeal have the authority to waive the $50 fee required under Government Code section 68926 for filing the record on appeal in a civil case or a petition for a writ within their original jurisdiction. Upon a review of the applicable statutes and authorities, we have concluded that the Courts of Appeal and this court possess the inherent power to permit indigent civil litigants to seek appellate relief without the payment of the statutory filing fee, upon a satisfactory showing of indigence and a certificate of counsel attesting to the merits of the underlying action or appeal.