Archive for April 2011
Georgia’s New Evidence Code: How & Why We Changed
Here are some reasons why this development is good. Regularity Less Vagueness (bent of mind, course of conduct, res gestae) A modern evidence code that fits the kinds of evidence lawyers seek to admit A playing field that, for a brief time, will reward the prepared (and that’s generally the defense) As Professor Miller noted,…
Read MoreExcellent Oral Argument on Lawyer Disqualification
I’ve been following this case closely because the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the Appellant. In a nutshell, the trial court disqualified the former DeKalb School Superintendant’s law firm where there actually was no conflic; rather, there was the speculative potential for a conflict where the clients…
Read MoreHow Can You Defend These People?
I’ve watched with interest the news regarding former Solicitor General Paul Clement’s resignation from King & Spalding, after the firm moved to withdraw from its representation of House Republicans in defense of the federal statute that prohibits same sex marriage. Every criminal defense lawyer should learn as much as possible about this story and save…
Read MoreMaking the Most of Your Georgia Prison Visit
As I’ve mentioned before, I make many prison visits. It’s part of the job in Georgia appellate practice. All the appellate courts, the parole board, and most of the counties where convictions originate are in or near Atlanta. And most of the prisons are south of Macon. I’ve learned some things over time about how…
Read MoreRead Steven Pressfield’s New Book if You Want to Write Better Briefs
Appellate writers face some of the same challenges that novelists and other artists face. Those things include procrastination, anxiety, self-defeating thoughts, and even alcoholism and other types of drug abuse. A brief is a peculiar type of artistic endeavor, and such things are tough. To make things worse, if you represent the appellant, the finder…
Read MoreThe Changing Craft of the Appellate Brief
Ben Kerschberg, wrote yesterday about his experience as a paralegal in the mid-90s in the appellate litigation section of Sidley Austin. More particularly, he wrote about the process of getting briefs ready to file in the United States Supreme Court in the pre-pdf era. True, the technology has now developed to the extent that it…
Read MoreChoosing Fonts for E-filing to Cater to Screen or Page
Some weeks back I wrote about whether lawyers should write for the screen or for the page in the era of e-filing (you can e-file in the Georgia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals now). It turns out that there is a way to hedge your bets, at least in terms of font selection. Kendall…
Read MoreThree Things You Should Know About Parole in Georgia
A few days ago, I met with two perspective families of potential parole clients. They had different kinds of problems. I had seen both problems before. The first had a loved one who was ten years into a twenty-year sentence for armed robbery. The second had a loved one who was puzzled that he had…
Read MoreHow Much Longer Before The Georgia Appellate Court Rules?
As a father of three children (one still in a car seat and one in a booster) and as an appeals lawyer in Georgia, I get two recurring and related questions. From the children, on car trips, I frequently hear, “Are we there yet?” From my clients and their families, I frequently hear, “when will…
Read MoreThe Client’s Right to Participate in Georgia Criminal Appeals is Quickly Eroding
The state of Georgia once brought us the Leo Frank trial, the Andersonville prisoner of war camp, and a series of lynching over the years. I never knew that Georgia law was so traditionally weighted against the State. The legislature seems to think otherwise. Yet, the legislature of late has enacted new laws that have…
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