Archive for September 2010
Stephen Bright’s Blog Launched a Few Days Ago
Heroes seem few and far between these days, or maybe I’m just being a little cynical. I’m listening to the audiobook version of Edmund Morris’s The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt right now and wondering why more political leaders are not cut out of something resembling a similar mold of intergrity and leadership. Since I’ve been…
Read MoreSay That Again: Getting the Most Out of Hearsay Objections
If there’s one evidentiary issue that you will encounter in your next jury trial, it’s hearsay. It comes up all the time, and some lawyers and judges don’t have a firm grasp on it or its exceptions. Beyond that, trial lawyers often stop short of fully developing their record because they fail to make an…
Read MoreWhat Does it Mean to Preserve the Record for Appeal in Georgia
I’m off tomorrow morning to speak to the Henry County, Georgia, Bar Association. The topic is a good one after wrapping up a week of trial. That topic is preserving the record for appeal. It seems like every seminar has the preserving the record speaker, the ethics speaker, and the professionalism speaker. You can tell…
Read MoreMore Appellate Lessons Learned from a Georgia Trial
On the first day of this week’s foray into criminal trial practice, I wrote about what a felony trial has been teaching me about appellate practice. Then a rejoinder form a commenter made me think that blogging during trial was not the greatest idea. Yesterday, the trial resulted in a mistrial. An hour into deliberations,…
Read MoreSome Lessons from a Trial Appearance
This week, I am trying a criminal case. My practice is predominantly appellate, but I have brief forays into the work of criminal trial practice. And today began such a case. While it’s not appropriate to go deeply into the particulars, I think that jury selection today was particularly instructive. I don’t know whether this…
Read MoreThe Importance of Being a Good Witness at a Habeas or Motion for New Trial
There’s a side effect of having a robust appellate practice in Georgia. If you handled the appeal, and your client has a lengthy prison sentence, you will likely become a witness as your former client tries to demonstrate your ineffectiveness. In Georgia, the client has the right to effective assistance of counsel during the trial…
Read MoreA Habeas Lawyer’s Duty to Discourage and Turn Down Certain Cases
Law is a business. But it’s not just a business. It’s a calling that brings with it certain duties to advise with the client’s best interest above the lawyer’s profit motive. If there’s a theme that runs throughout the stories clients and families tell me at consultation, it’s hopelessness combined with desparation and mistrust. By…
Read MoreWhy Appellate Judges Should be Appointed and Not Elected
at the New York Times website is disturbing. She cites a recent Pew Research Center poll where people were asked the current chief justice of the United States. To make the result even more disquiting, the test was multiple choice. And here were the choices: John Roberts Thurgood Marshall John Paul Stevens Harry Reid 53%…
Read MoreDating Do’s and Don’ts for the Georgia Appellate Lawyer
Since I’ve started this whole blogging thing, I’ve made it a point to put fantastic bloggers who are great at it into my RSS Reader. Kendall Gray’s Blog, the Appellate Record, is a great resource even though he does his craft over in Texas. He always has something to teach me about writing, appellate strategy.…
Read MoreSupreme Court of Georgia Grants Cert. Petitions in Three Criminal Cases
The Supreme Court of Georgia is back in full swing. The Court has already heard oral argument in several sessions. Yesterday, the Court granted certiorari petitions on three criminal cases. Each case has important implications for the criminal defense bar. While I am not entirely thrilled with some of the decisions the Court has made…
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