Last week’s song was about a guy moments away from the ultimate penalty. This week’s song is about a man with some interesting multi-jurisdictional issues whose central crime is “borrowing” a car. But he also awaits trial in California, it appears. No appeal here, necessarily, but perhaps it might be good to work out some […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-21 08:00:002010-08-21 08:00:00Second Song About People Who Need an Appeals Lawyer
Robin McDonald’s article poses the question of why the Georgia’s Judicial Qualifications Commission has zapped so many judges this year. The simple answer is that they deserved it. But, read a little more, and the story is pretty disturbing. While the commission has taken out some judges who had it coming, I can’t say that […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-20 09:40:452010-08-20 09:40:4521 Judges Disciplined by Georgia’s Star Chamber, the JQC
There are some great CLEs coming up in the next few weeks and months for lawyers who do trial, appellate, or habeas practice. They range from the National to the local, but all of them will have something to offer. NACDL’s Free Seminar on Padilla v. Kentucky. The Seminar is Titled “Padilla in Practice: Your […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-19 18:02:572010-08-19 18:02:57CLE Opportunities for Criminal Appeals and Habeas Lawyers in Georgia
So, I just got finished reading a transcript on a case I am appealing. Halfway through the trial, a witness for the State said something highly improper. Counsel moved for a mistrial. These moments in the reading of a transcript are a little like watching a really close college football game, because I am pulling […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-18 17:22:502010-08-18 17:22:50Managing Motions for Mistrial in Georgia to Preserve Them for Appeal
According to a post by Alyson Palmer at ATLAW Blog, the Secretary of State’s Office is picking up where Atlanta Lawyer Justin Chaney left off. A month ago, Mr. Chaney challenged Adrienne Hunter-Strothers’s candidacy arguing that she had not been a member of the State Bar of Georgia long enough to be a candidate for […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-17 09:39:272010-08-17 09:39:27Kemp Investigating Qualifications of Georgia Court of Appeals Candidate
Picking up on yesterday’s theme, I have been thinking more about why lawyers don’t make good records on appeal. So, I’m going to take a stab at it, and this stab is applicable to criminal trials only. As far as I know, civil practitioners have their own reasons for not preserving a good record for […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-17 08:00:002010-08-17 08:00:00Sheepish or Sarcastic: It all Looks the Same on the Record
The average trial transcript handled by the average criminal trial attorney is a sad sight to behold. All of my client’s hopes turn on what is said in this document and often, I am sad to say, on what is not said in this document. There is one word that makes the difference between dead […]
Music is replete with songs about people who had some bad stuff happen to them at their trial and who need an appellate lawyer. So, I am kicking off a weekly series featuring songs about people who need a good criminal appeals or habeas lawyer. To kick things off, let’s listen to Steve Earle from […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-13 20:40:482010-08-13 20:40:48Weekend Music About People who Need a Criminal Appellate Lawyer
Another lawyer contacted me about a case she is working on. She wasn’t the trial counsel. She wasn’t the lawyer on the motion for new trial. In fact, one lawyer handled the trial. A second lawyer handled the motion for new trial. She was hired after the motion for new trial was denied but just […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-13 08:00:002010-08-13 08:00:00What to Do if You’re Not the First Lawyer on the Case
I don’t want to bury the lead. So, here it is. There must be enough error out there in Georgia to win a slew of appeals. Georgia judges must be messing up on hearsay, the Fourth Amendment, and jury charges. All those things are hard. Many of them, so far this year, are messing up […]
Second Song About People Who Need an Appeals Lawyer
/by J. Scott KeyLast week’s song was about a guy moments away from the ultimate penalty. This week’s song is about a man with some interesting multi-jurisdictional issues whose central crime is “borrowing” a car. But he also awaits trial in California, it appears. No appeal here, necessarily, but perhaps it might be good to work out some […]
21 Judges Disciplined by Georgia’s Star Chamber, the JQC
/by J. Scott KeyRobin McDonald’s article poses the question of why the Georgia’s Judicial Qualifications Commission has zapped so many judges this year. The simple answer is that they deserved it. But, read a little more, and the story is pretty disturbing. While the commission has taken out some judges who had it coming, I can’t say that […]
CLE Opportunities for Criminal Appeals and Habeas Lawyers in Georgia
/by J. Scott KeyThere are some great CLEs coming up in the next few weeks and months for lawyers who do trial, appellate, or habeas practice. They range from the National to the local, but all of them will have something to offer. NACDL’s Free Seminar on Padilla v. Kentucky. The Seminar is Titled “Padilla in Practice: Your […]
Managing Motions for Mistrial in Georgia to Preserve Them for Appeal
/by J. Scott KeySo, I just got finished reading a transcript on a case I am appealing. Halfway through the trial, a witness for the State said something highly improper. Counsel moved for a mistrial. These moments in the reading of a transcript are a little like watching a really close college football game, because I am pulling […]
Kemp Investigating Qualifications of Georgia Court of Appeals Candidate
/by J. Scott KeyAccording to a post by Alyson Palmer at ATLAW Blog, the Secretary of State’s Office is picking up where Atlanta Lawyer Justin Chaney left off. A month ago, Mr. Chaney challenged Adrienne Hunter-Strothers’s candidacy arguing that she had not been a member of the State Bar of Georgia long enough to be a candidate for […]
Sheepish or Sarcastic: It all Looks the Same on the Record
/by J. Scott KeyPicking up on yesterday’s theme, I have been thinking more about why lawyers don’t make good records on appeal. So, I’m going to take a stab at it, and this stab is applicable to criminal trials only. As far as I know, civil practitioners have their own reasons for not preserving a good record for […]
How to Make the Transcript More Fun to Read
/by J. Scott KeyThe average trial transcript handled by the average criminal trial attorney is a sad sight to behold. All of my client’s hopes turn on what is said in this document and often, I am sad to say, on what is not said in this document. There is one word that makes the difference between dead […]
Weekend Music About People who Need a Criminal Appellate Lawyer
/by J. Scott KeyMusic is replete with songs about people who had some bad stuff happen to them at their trial and who need an appellate lawyer. So, I am kicking off a weekly series featuring songs about people who need a good criminal appeals or habeas lawyer. To kick things off, let’s listen to Steve Earle from […]
What to Do if You’re Not the First Lawyer on the Case
/by J. Scott KeyAnother lawyer contacted me about a case she is working on. She wasn’t the trial counsel. She wasn’t the lawyer on the motion for new trial. In fact, one lawyer handled the trial. A second lawyer handled the motion for new trial. She was hired after the motion for new trial was denied but just […]
Georgia Judicial News: Judges Gone Wild Edition
/by J. Scott KeyI don’t want to bury the lead. So, here it is. There must be enough error out there in Georgia to win a slew of appeals. Georgia judges must be messing up on hearsay, the Fourth Amendment, and jury charges. All those things are hard. Many of them, so far this year, are messing up […]