The Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Georgia convened as part of the Georgia Bar’s mid-year meeting. In spite of the fact that many participants came over from the swearing-in of Judge Boggs to the Court of Appeals, the luncheon was lively and well-attended. Originally intended to be a candidates’s forum for candidates […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-01-07 11:54:242012-01-07 11:54:24Judges at Appellate Practice Section Luncheon Laud New Governor’s Support of Judiciary
This post was intended to be a top 10 list. Then it was intended to be a top 5 list. But as I look back at 2011, there are really only two big stories that stand out. Actually, there are two stories and one lesson. The stories are the JQC’s investigation of Judge Amanda Williams […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2012-01-03 16:48:262012-01-03 16:48:26The Top 2 Georgia Legal Stories of 2011 and the 1 Lesson They Teach
For those of you who don’t know, the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is that weird occurrence where you hear about something for the first time and then encounter it again shortly afterwards. (Don’t worry, I didn’t know that term either until I searched for it on Google. And if there is any truth to this phenomenon you […]
Today, my recent post on Amanda Knox was quoted by Ronald V. Miller in his Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. He picks up on my point about the Knox case and other high-profile cases with an unexpected result. For clients and potential clients, such cases reinforce the often mistaken idea that, if you keep on slugging until […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2011-10-14 00:15:352011-10-14 00:15:35Amanda Knox, the Appeals Process, and Moneyball
I’ve already been asked about it several times. For the criminal trial lawyer, the Casey Anthony verdict was the result that made it difficult to counsel clients on whether to accept a negotiate plea rather than risk a trial against an overwhelming case. Several colleagues have told me that clients have balked in the face […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2011-10-04 13:00:182011-10-04 13:00:18Managing Expectations in the Wake of the Amanda Knox Win
There’s an old bright line rule about whether judges should mention the appellate process to juries. The subtext is that you shouldn’t do it at all. The literal rule is that you shouldn’t do it in a way suggesting that the defendant is going to lose the trial. The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed on old […]
I stopped blogging several weeks back. You won’t have to look hard to see a gap in the rate of posts on this blog from July until a few days ago. And if you look at the post I did earlier in the week, you’ll see something worse than no blog at all. You’ll see […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2011-09-29 14:32:062011-09-29 14:32:06Putting it in Context: Or, How I Almost Gave up on Blogging
The Supreme Court has granted two petitions for certiorari and one application for discretionary appeal so far this month. Below is an overview of each case Bunn v. State In its Order granting Cert., from September 6, 2011, the Court notes that it is particularly concerned with the following issue: Does the Child Hearsay Statute […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2011-09-27 16:33:462011-09-27 16:33:46Granted Petitions on Criminal Cases for the Month of September
Leave this blog right now and run, don’t walk, over to the Appellate Record and read Kendall Gray’s blog post on what distinguishes appellate lawyers from trial lawyers. A presentation he gave to visitors to his firm from China inspired this post. It provides the simplest explanation of the key differences between the two types […]
Two recent cases from the Court of Appeals demonstrate the need to put the appellate record together in a reasonable time period, the need to respond to post-trial motion regarding the record with the statutory time frame, and to be vigilant that the record stays together as the case moves its way through the court […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2011-08-17 10:45:562011-08-17 10:45:56Two New Cases Warn Lawyers to Tend to the Record on Appeal
Judges at Appellate Practice Section Luncheon Laud New Governor’s Support of Judiciary
/by J. Scott KeyThe Appellate Practice Section of the State Bar of Georgia convened as part of the Georgia Bar’s mid-year meeting. In spite of the fact that many participants came over from the swearing-in of Judge Boggs to the Court of Appeals, the luncheon was lively and well-attended. Originally intended to be a candidates’s forum for candidates […]
The Top 2 Georgia Legal Stories of 2011 and the 1 Lesson They Teach
/by J. Scott KeyThis post was intended to be a top 10 list. Then it was intended to be a top 5 list. But as I look back at 2011, there are really only two big stories that stand out. Actually, there are two stories and one lesson. The stories are the JQC’s investigation of Judge Amanda Williams […]
The Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
/by J. Scott KeyFor those of you who don’t know, the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon is that weird occurrence where you hear about something for the first time and then encounter it again shortly afterwards. (Don’t worry, I didn’t know that term either until I searched for it on Google. And if there is any truth to this phenomenon you […]
Amanda Knox, the Appeals Process, and Moneyball
/by J. Scott KeyToday, my recent post on Amanda Knox was quoted by Ronald V. Miller in his Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog. He picks up on my point about the Knox case and other high-profile cases with an unexpected result. For clients and potential clients, such cases reinforce the often mistaken idea that, if you keep on slugging until […]
Managing Expectations in the Wake of the Amanda Knox Win
/by J. Scott KeyI’ve already been asked about it several times. For the criminal trial lawyer, the Casey Anthony verdict was the result that made it difficult to counsel clients on whether to accept a negotiate plea rather than risk a trial against an overwhelming case. Several colleagues have told me that clients have balked in the face […]
When Judges Tell Juries About Appeals
/by J. Scott KeyThere’s an old bright line rule about whether judges should mention the appellate process to juries. The subtext is that you shouldn’t do it at all. The literal rule is that you shouldn’t do it in a way suggesting that the defendant is going to lose the trial. The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed on old […]
Putting it in Context: Or, How I Almost Gave up on Blogging
/by J. Scott KeyI stopped blogging several weeks back. You won’t have to look hard to see a gap in the rate of posts on this blog from July until a few days ago. And if you look at the post I did earlier in the week, you’ll see something worse than no blog at all. You’ll see […]
Granted Petitions on Criminal Cases for the Month of September
/by J. Scott KeyThe Supreme Court has granted two petitions for certiorari and one application for discretionary appeal so far this month. Below is an overview of each case Bunn v. State In its Order granting Cert., from September 6, 2011, the Court notes that it is particularly concerned with the following issue: Does the Child Hearsay Statute […]
What Do Appellate Lawyers Do
/by J. Scott KeyLeave this blog right now and run, don’t walk, over to the Appellate Record and read Kendall Gray’s blog post on what distinguishes appellate lawyers from trial lawyers. A presentation he gave to visitors to his firm from China inspired this post. It provides the simplest explanation of the key differences between the two types […]
Two New Cases Warn Lawyers to Tend to the Record on Appeal
/by J. Scott KeyTwo recent cases from the Court of Appeals demonstrate the need to put the appellate record together in a reasonable time period, the need to respond to post-trial motion regarding the record with the statutory time frame, and to be vigilant that the record stays together as the case moves its way through the court […]