This won’t end well. Anthony Peters, the former Catoosa County assistant Magistrate Judge has filed a civil rights suit against the his former boss as well as the Sheriff of Catoosa County. When I read Joy Lukachick’s article (hat tip to her) in the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the lawsuit, I had to pull the […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-06-20 13:40:232012-06-20 13:40:23Ex-Magistrate’s Lawsuit Blackens Eye of Ga. Judiciary
Williams v. Illinois, the newest Confrontation Clause case from the Supreme Court, leaves unresolved some key issues on the Confrontation Clause and its applicability to lab reports. Some things to note: Williams has no majority opinion It is very fact specific A similar case with a better set of facts might go the other way […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-06-19 06:37:022012-06-19 06:37:02Williams v. Illinois Asks More Questions than it Answers
Today, the Savannah morning news has a fantastic article about the late Terry Jackson, a hero of mine and of many Georgia criminal defense lawyers. I did not know Terry until late in his life. He referred me some cases in the past couple of years, and I am working now on one of his […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-06-18 07:48:122012-06-18 07:48:12Savannah Morning News Recognizes Terry Jackson’s Life
While working on a brief, we discovered a Georgia Supreme Court case that I was sorry to have missed when it came out (hat tip to Margaret Flynt). A paradigm shifted in 2010, and I completely missed it. From an optimistic viewpoint, this case shows that almost nothing adds up to ineffective assistance of counsel. To […]
Last week, I closed out an armed robbery case quite successfully. The case was reduced down to robbery, the client was sentenced under Georgia’s First Offender Act (meaning that he has the opportunity to come out of this with no conviction on his record), and after completing a one-year residential program, he is on probation. […]
This week, I received an email from Don Roch at Bowers & Roch in Canton, Georgia, in response to a post on a CLE talk I gave on typography. He took issue with my claim that, in Georgia appellate courts, you are stuck with Courier New 12 or Times New Roman 14. Don did a […]
The Lawyerist wrote an evocative post last week about when and how to object at trial. In it, Andy Mergendahl notes that “Objecting at times other than when absolutely necessary to keep crucial inadmissible evidence out will really hurt you.” He advises, instead, to handle as many objections as possible as motions in limine. What […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-05-23 11:32:052012-05-23 11:32:05Trial Objections are no Substitute for an Appellate Strategy
Scott Greenfield, today, looks critically at a lawyer’s website. The lawyer boasts that he started his practice with nothing and now has 500 clients. Mr. Greenfield’s post struck a chord with my thoughts of late. If you have 500 clients, you aren’t giving much time to any one of them or their case. Worse than […]
If you read this blog regularly, it is no secret that I am a recent convert and evangelist for Matthew Butterick’s Typography for Lawyers. I have a long way to go in my legal writing before I reach a point of mastery, but I am happy to be paying attention. One of the chairs for […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-04-22 19:38:042012-04-22 19:38:04My Controversial Talk on Typography (No Kidding)
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN TV on the latest developments in the Trayvon Martin case. In the short interview I give a brief explanation on the background of the case, touch on Florida’s unique “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law and compare the situation to two past cases that […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-03-31 13:28:222012-03-31 13:28:22Video Interview: Discussing the Latest in the Trayvon Martin Case with LXBN TV
Ex-Magistrate’s Lawsuit Blackens Eye of Ga. Judiciary
/by J. Scott KeyThis won’t end well. Anthony Peters, the former Catoosa County assistant Magistrate Judge has filed a civil rights suit against the his former boss as well as the Sheriff of Catoosa County. When I read Joy Lukachick’s article (hat tip to her) in the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the lawsuit, I had to pull the […]
Williams v. Illinois Asks More Questions than it Answers
/by J. Scott KeyWilliams v. Illinois, the newest Confrontation Clause case from the Supreme Court, leaves unresolved some key issues on the Confrontation Clause and its applicability to lab reports. Some things to note: Williams has no majority opinion It is very fact specific A similar case with a better set of facts might go the other way […]
Savannah Morning News Recognizes Terry Jackson’s Life
/by J. Scott KeyToday, the Savannah morning news has a fantastic article about the late Terry Jackson, a hero of mine and of many Georgia criminal defense lawyers. I did not know Terry until late in his life. He referred me some cases in the past couple of years, and I am working now on one of his […]
In Memoriam: Strickland v. Washington
/by J. Scott KeyWhile working on a brief, we discovered a Georgia Supreme Court case that I was sorry to have missed when it came out (hat tip to Margaret Flynt). A paradigm shifted in 2010, and I completely missed it. From an optimistic viewpoint, this case shows that almost nothing adds up to ineffective assistance of counsel. To […]
Should You Post Bond? Not Always
/by J. Scott KeyLast week, I closed out an armed robbery case quite successfully. The case was reduced down to robbery, the client was sentenced under Georgia’s First Offender Act (meaning that he has the opportunity to come out of this with no conviction on his record), and after completing a one-year residential program, he is on probation. […]
An Update to the Typography Post
/by J. Scott KeyThis week, I received an email from Don Roch at Bowers & Roch in Canton, Georgia, in response to a post on a CLE talk I gave on typography. He took issue with my claim that, in Georgia appellate courts, you are stuck with Courier New 12 or Times New Roman 14. Don did a […]
Trial Objections are no Substitute for an Appellate Strategy
/by J. Scott KeyThe Lawyerist wrote an evocative post last week about when and how to object at trial. In it, Andy Mergendahl notes that “Objecting at times other than when absolutely necessary to keep crucial inadmissible evidence out will really hurt you.” He advises, instead, to handle as many objections as possible as motions in limine. What […]
Beware the Generic Brand
/by J. Scott KeyScott Greenfield, today, looks critically at a lawyer’s website. The lawyer boasts that he started his practice with nothing and now has 500 clients. Mr. Greenfield’s post struck a chord with my thoughts of late. If you have 500 clients, you aren’t giving much time to any one of them or their case. Worse than […]
My Controversial Talk on Typography (No Kidding)
/by J. Scott KeyIf you read this blog regularly, it is no secret that I am a recent convert and evangelist for Matthew Butterick’s Typography for Lawyers. I have a long way to go in my legal writing before I reach a point of mastery, but I am happy to be paying attention. One of the chairs for […]
Video Interview: Discussing the Latest in the Trayvon Martin Case with LXBN TV
/by J. Scott KeyYesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN TV on the latest developments in the Trayvon Martin case. In the short interview I give a brief explanation on the background of the case, touch on Florida’s unique “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law and compare the situation to two past cases that […]