Morris

*640 California Rules of Court, rule 8.851(a) (rule 8.851 ), which applies in the appellate division of a superior court, only authorizes appointment of counsel on appeal for defendants who have been "convicted of a misdemeanor." Consequently, it does not require the appellate division to appoint counsel for a defendant who is acting as the respondent on an appeal by the People from an order suppressing evidence under Penal Code section 1538.5.

In this petition, Phyllis K. Morris, in her capacity as the Public Defender for the County of San Bernardino, argues the United States Constitution obligates respondent, the Superior Court of San Bernardino County, to appoint counsel for all indigent defendants in the appellate division. While we agree that a defendant acting as respondent in the appellate division would likely 1 fare better with an attorney than without one, we stress that showing that something might be procedurally better is not the same as showing that the state is obligated to provide it. (See, e.g., Ross v. Moffitt (1974) 417 U.S. 600 , 616, 94 S.Ct. 2437 , 41 L.Ed.2d 341 ( Ross ) ["[T]he fact that a particular service might be of benefit to an indigent defendant…