Judge Carla McMillian’s campaign for re-election is in full swing. The Augusta press ran a full interview last month. And Judge McMillian took some time out to speak to the Appellate Practice Section’s monthly luncheon, where she reflected on a year on the Court and shared her top ten lessons and tips from her time as […]
00admin/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngadmin2013-12-09 07:47:022013-12-09 07:47:02Ct. of Appeals Judge Carla McMillian’s Ten Tips on Practice
In the past year, I have worked on a new category of appeal in an area that did not exist when I came out of law school and was in its infancy when I started focusing on appellate law. Those appeals have been in a Georgia administrative agency called the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board. […]
00admin/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngadmin2013-12-02 08:01:112013-12-02 08:01:11Sex Offender Classification: A New Sort of Appeal for a Brave New World
Earlier this week, I had a court appearance in Camden County, Georgia. Camden County is as far South as you can go on I-95 in Georgia without being in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. We have family close to there. So, I took my four-year-old son with me for a little time with his grandparents while […]
My new favorite law blog is Judge Richard Kopf’s Hercules and the Umpire. Lately, it’s been the first place I click on my reader. His blog is conversational and offers a view of the Federal Court from the other side of the bench. A recent post of his was particularly spot on. It begins “For […]
00admin/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngadmin2013-07-25 15:34:072013-07-25 15:34:07Court Reporters and Digital Audio Recording: Time for a Change?
Andrew Cohen at The Atlantic Monthly has a post up on how Georgia’s legislature created a law that spared the life (so far) of Warren Lee Hill, a man that the State has been trying to kill. It’s a must read if you are trying to teach someone the concept of irony. This past year, […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Annual Meeting of the State Bar of Georgia. On Thursday, I was part of a quartet of lawyers who delivered the criminal and civil update of significant cases from the 11th Circuit and Georgia Appellate Courts. Thursday, at the appellate practice luncheon, Georgia family law attorney […]
00admin/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngadmin2013-06-26 17:40:522013-06-26 17:40:52Lawyer Recounts First Appearance and Victory Before SCOTUS
I found some good lawyering advice today in, of all places,The Annals of Oncology. There’s an article titled Breaking bad news in oncology: like a walk in the twilight. I’m not trying to be glib in making a comparison. Oncologists are oncologists, and lawyers are lawyers. But what we have in common is that we […]
The Court of Appeals, with a panel made up of Judges Dillard, Ellington, and Phipps, has reversed an order granting a motion to suppress from the State Court of Fayette County. I write about this case because it further develops the law in the area of Miranda and field sobriety testing and because it illustrates […]
00admin/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngadmin2013-04-01 08:38:122013-04-01 08:38:12New Field Sobriety/Miranda Case Important at Several Levels
HB 349 has been the subject of much discussion for its sentencing innovations. However, nestled within it are some significant changes to the appellate code. This post will familiarize you with the appellate provisions of HB 349 and provide some tips to get around them. Pre-HB 349 Under the soon to be old law, any […]
Ray Lewis’s retirement has made for an interesting time to be a criminal defense lawyer. Many of us who defend people for a living lead two lives. In one, we are in and out of jails, explaining things to clients. We are in the hallway huddled with families after a loved one was led out […]
Ct. of Appeals Judge Carla McMillian’s Ten Tips on Practice
/by adminJudge Carla McMillian’s campaign for re-election is in full swing. The Augusta press ran a full interview last month. And Judge McMillian took some time out to speak to the Appellate Practice Section’s monthly luncheon, where she reflected on a year on the Court and shared her top ten lessons and tips from her time as […]
Sex Offender Classification: A New Sort of Appeal for a Brave New World
/by adminIn the past year, I have worked on a new category of appeal in an area that did not exist when I came out of law school and was in its infancy when I started focusing on appellate law. Those appeals have been in a Georgia administrative agency called the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board. […]
How These Cases Can Start
/by adminEarlier this week, I had a court appearance in Camden County, Georgia. Camden County is as far South as you can go on I-95 in Georgia without being in the Jacksonville, Florida, area. We have family close to there. So, I took my four-year-old son with me for a little time with his grandparents while […]
Court Reporters and Digital Audio Recording: Time for a Change?
/by adminMy new favorite law blog is Judge Richard Kopf’s Hercules and the Umpire. Lately, it’s been the first place I click on my reader. His blog is conversational and offers a view of the Federal Court from the other side of the bench. A recent post of his was particularly spot on. It begins “For […]
New Law Spares Life of Warren Lee Hill
/by adminAndrew Cohen at The Atlantic Monthly has a post up on how Georgia’s legislature created a law that spared the life (so far) of Warren Lee Hill, a man that the State has been trying to kill. It’s a must read if you are trying to teach someone the concept of irony. This past year, […]
Lawyer Recounts First Appearance and Victory Before SCOTUS
/by adminLast week, I had the pleasure of attending the Annual Meeting of the State Bar of Georgia. On Thursday, I was part of a quartet of lawyers who delivered the criminal and civil update of significant cases from the 11th Circuit and Georgia Appellate Courts. Thursday, at the appellate practice luncheon, Georgia family law attorney […]
Breaking Bad News
/by adminI found some good lawyering advice today in, of all places,The Annals of Oncology. There’s an article titled Breaking bad news in oncology: like a walk in the twilight. I’m not trying to be glib in making a comparison. Oncologists are oncologists, and lawyers are lawyers. But what we have in common is that we […]
New Field Sobriety/Miranda Case Important at Several Levels
/by adminThe Court of Appeals, with a panel made up of Judges Dillard, Ellington, and Phipps, has reversed an order granting a motion to suppress from the State Court of Fayette County. I write about this case because it further develops the law in the area of Miranda and field sobriety testing and because it illustrates […]
How to Defeat the State’s New Pre-trial Appellate Rights
/by adminHB 349 has been the subject of much discussion for its sentencing innovations. However, nestled within it are some significant changes to the appellate code. This post will familiarize you with the appellate provisions of HB 349 and provide some tips to get around them. Pre-HB 349 Under the soon to be old law, any […]
Ray Lewis, Facebook, and the Justice System
/by adminRay Lewis’s retirement has made for an interesting time to be a criminal defense lawyer. Many of us who defend people for a living lead two lives. In one, we are in and out of jails, explaining things to clients. We are in the hallway huddled with families after a loved one was led out […]