Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 1984.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
88 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
18 people listed on the 990; $1.2M paid to officers and key staff.
Laura Murry’s $174K as Supervising Attorney is at the 25th percentile of top reported officer pay among 247 $10–100M crime & legal nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Lennon | $164,763 | $175,180 | $175,195 | $177,697 | $177,697 | $170,485 |
| Laura Murry | $174,308 | $151,673 | $147,598 | $141,235 | $141,235 | $140,987 |
| Sarah a Chester | $172,582 | $150,171 | — | — | — | — |
| Joseph Schlesinger | $172,499 | $169,950 | $171,099 | $163,774 | $164,744 | $164,594 |
| Jay Kohorn | $170,180 | $170,195 | $170,195 | $166,168 | $166,168 | $162,171 |
| Patricia Daniels | $162,991 | — | — | $139,216 | — | $138,516 |
| Jennifer Peabody | $160,597 | $150,180 | $146,195 | — | — | — |
| David Andreasen | $150,300 | $150,300 | — | — | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See California Appellate Project executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Trains, assists, and evaluates lawyers representing low-income defendants.
Questions for California Appellate Project
Your first name shows with your question. California Appellate Project answers here, for everyone.
The california appellate project (cap) is a non-profit corporation established by the state bar of california. It began operation in san francisco in september, 1983 as a law office under contract with the judicial council of california to recruit, train, assist and evaluate private counsel appointed to represent indigent defendants in…
In october, 1986, cap opened a los angeles office under separate contract with the judicial council of california to provide similar services in non-capital cases in the second district of the california court of APPEAL.(1) in fy 2020-2021, the los angeles office made recommendations to the court of appeal of appointed counsel, matching…
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.4M | $2.5M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $52K | $34K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $6.3M | $5.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.4M | $1.4M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4.9M | $4.3M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $509K | $361K | $148K | |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $6.2M | $5.6M | $556K | |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $619K | $563K | $56K | |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $1.3M | $1.1M | $113K | |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $499K | $454K | $45K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $31K | $31K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $95K | $86K | $10K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $245K | $203K | $42K | |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $203K | $177K | $26K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $1.5M | $1.2M | $291K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $6K | $6K | $64 | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1K | $1K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $24K | $19K | $5K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $154K | $142K | $12K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $179K | $145K | $34K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $39K | $24K | $15K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $11.6M | $10.2M | $1.4M | $0 |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 12, 2026 | $12.9M | $12.4M | $467K | $4.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS May 13, 2025 | $12.6M | $12.4M | $194K | $3.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 13, 2024 | $12.3M | $12.6M | −$297K | $3.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 4, 2023 | $11.1M | $11.8M | −$688K | $3.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS May 16, 2022 | $11.0M | $11.6M | −$548K | $4.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 12, 2021 | $11.1M | $11.4M | −$310K | $4.9M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $11,023,144 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 10 of 10 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $11,023,144 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $11,571,476 across 16 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $5,763,935 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,342,640 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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