Archive for August 2010
CLE Opportunities for Criminal Appeals and Habeas Lawyers in Georgia
There are some great CLEs coming up in the next few weeks and months for lawyers who do trial, appellate, or habeas practice. They range from the National to the local, but all of them will have something to offer. NACDL’s Free Seminar on Padilla v. Kentucky. The Seminar is Titled “Padilla in Practice: Your…
Read MoreManaging Motions for Mistrial in Georgia to Preserve Them for Appeal
So, I just got finished reading a transcript on a case I am appealing. Halfway through the trial, a witness for the State said something highly improper. Counsel moved for a mistrial. These moments in the reading of a transcript are a little like watching a really close college football game, because I am pulling…
Read MoreKemp Investigating Qualifications of Georgia Court of Appeals Candidate
According to a post by Alyson Palmer at ATLAW Blog, the Secretary of State’s Office is picking up where Atlanta Lawyer Justin Chaney left off. A month ago, Mr. Chaney challenged Adrienne Hunter-Strothers’s candidacy arguing that she had not been a member of the State Bar of Georgia long enough to be a candidate for…
Read MoreSheepish or Sarcastic: It all Looks the Same on the Record
Picking up on yesterday’s theme, I have been thinking more about why lawyers don’t make good records on appeal. So, I’m going to take a stab at it, and this stab is applicable to criminal trials only. As far as I know, civil practitioners have their own reasons for not preserving a good record for…
Read MoreHow to Make the Transcript More Fun to Read
The average trial transcript handled by the average criminal trial attorney is a sad sight to behold. All of my client’s hopes turn on what is said in this document and often, I am sad to say, on what is not said in this document. There is one word that makes the difference between dead…
Read MoreWeekend Music About People who Need a Criminal Appellate Lawyer
Music is replete with songs about people who had some bad stuff happen to them at their trial and who need an appellate lawyer. So, I am kicking off a weekly series featuring songs about people who need a good criminal appeals or habeas lawyer. To kick things off, let’s listen to Steve Earle from…
Read MoreWhat to Do if You’re Not the First Lawyer on the Case
Another lawyer contacted me about a case she is working on. She wasn’t the trial counsel. She wasn’t the lawyer on the motion for new trial. In fact, one lawyer handled the trial. A second lawyer handled the motion for new trial. She was hired after the motion for new trial was denied but just…
Read MoreGeorgia Judicial News: Judges Gone Wild Edition
I don’t want to bury the lead. So, here it is. There must be enough error out there in Georgia to win a slew of appeals. Georgia judges must be messing up on hearsay, the Fourth Amendment, and jury charges. All those things are hard. Many of them, so far this year, are messing up…
Read MorePreserve the Record Alert: Felon in Possession Statutes are Low-Hanging Fruit
, Professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University reports at his blog, Sentencing Law and Policy, that the Seventh Circuit has suggested that a non-violent felon might prevail on a Second Amendment challenge if he brings an as-applied challenge to the Federal Felon in Possession statute (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1))). In U.S.…
Read MoreUse Good Story Technique in your Next Appellate Brief
Who doesn’t like a good story? We start liking them before we know how to read. Trial lawyers generally know that juries like them. But what about appellate writing? Is there a place for story in the appellate brief or at oral argument?There is, and if you start weaving elements of story into your appellate…
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