The California Courts of Appeal are divided into six districts. Los Angeles is in the Second Appellate District; San Diego is in the Fourth District and the Court of Appeal there has no jurisdiction over cases from the Second District.
The clerks in every district of the Court of Appeals are very particular about all documents filed and will not accept any documents that do not comply with all of the court rules. If you tried to file an appeal of a Los Angeles judgment with the Court of Appeal in San Diego, it would be rejected. If that caused you to miss a deadline to properly file the appeal in Los Angeles, you could completely lose the right to appeal.
Some appeals have to be filed in the Appellate Department of the Superior Court that made the order. Since an error in filing can result in the loss of your appellate rights, you should contact an appellate attorney for more guidance.
Please understand that this is a general discussion of legal principles by a California lawyer and does not create an attorney/client relationship. It's impossible to give detailed, accurate advice based on a few sentences on a website (and you shouldn't provide too much specific information about your legal matter on a public forum like Avvo, anyway). You should always seek advice from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction who can give you an informed opinion after reviewing all of the relevant information.
I agree with Attorney Marshall's well written answer and would add that there is also a difference between civil and criminal so be aware of that and how it might impact your case.
