, Professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University reports at his blog, Sentencing Law and Policy, that the Seventh Circuit has suggested that a non-violent felon might prevail on a Second Amendment challenge if he brings an as-applied challenge to the Federal Felon in Possession statute (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1))). In U.S. […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-11 08:00:002010-08-11 08:00:00Preserve the Record Alert: Felon in Possession Statutes are Low-Hanging Fruit
Who doesn’t like a good story? We start liking them before we know how to read. Trial lawyers generally know that juries like them. But what about appellate writing? Is there a place for story in the appellate brief or at oral argument?There is, and if you start weaving elements of story into your appellate […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-10 08:00:002010-08-10 08:00:00Use Good Story Technique in your Next Appellate Brief
I’ve been talking about the Democratic side of the Attorney General election for too long. But what about the Republic side? Georgia is such a red state, that the Democratic ticket is largely irrelevant anyway. Meanwhile, the Republicans are in a run-off. And, as Republicans are apt to do when they square off, the candidates […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-09 08:00:002010-08-09 08:00:00Republican Run-Off for Georgia Attorney General Devolves into Dealth Penalty Smackdown
I love Kendall Gray’s piece on Brevity and the use of conjunctions to start sentences. I, too, learned never to begin a sentence with But or And. It seemed like good advice at the time. But now I have learned that it is not a law of physics. He quotes Professor Wayne Scheiss, who presented […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-06 13:00:002010-08-06 13:00:00Good Appellate Writing is Not Stuffy or Formalistic
Kirk Jenkins, at The Appellate Strategist Blog, poses an interesting question. Does Legal Scholarship Have an Impact on the Work of the Courts? The ABA and some judges say no, and a recent study says yes. Mr. Jenkins quotes United States Chief Justice John Roberts who recently characterized legal scholarship as not “particularly helpful” in […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-05 20:00:002010-08-05 20:00:00Are Law Review Articles Relevant in Georgia or 11th Circuit Appellate Decisions?
There is a moment in most great horror movies where the evil presence/bad guy/ghost/homicidal maniac takes out a character who has it coming. For a moment, the audience applauds the wicked antagonist. Think of Jason from Friday the 13th taking out a weaselly teen or the scene in Jurassic Park where the velociraptors eat Dennis […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-04 23:32:502010-08-04 23:32:50U.S. v. Irey: The Return of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the 11th Circuit
Due Process comes at a price. According to Patrick Fox, in a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it is expensive to provide interpreters for non-English-speaking defendants. In 2009, Gwinnett County paid $539,803 to provide interpreters. With a more diverse population comes an increased need for interpreters. Judge Davis of the Superior Court of Gwinnett […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-03 08:00:002010-08-03 08:00:00Local Politicians are Criticizing the High Costs of Interpreters
While it feels like August in Georgia, for appellate practitioners it may feel a little like it is Christmas. Today, the Supreme Court of Georgia has begun accepting briefs through its new e-filing system. From today forward, lawyers who are in good standing and members of the State Bar of Georgia and the the Supreme […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-08-02 15:02:472010-08-02 15:02:47The Supreme Court of Georgia Now Allows E-Filing of Briefs
Jay O’Keeffe, in his blog reports that he is bothered by a recent development involving a lawyer who has been summoned to show cause and explain comments he made in a lower court transcript about the Virginia Supreme Court. Bothered is a mild way to describe my reaction to the story. Put more accurately, I […]
These have been difficult days for the judiciary and for the Court of Appeals in particular. There are three openings on the Court and two branches of government that seem to view the court system as an inconvenient hurdle standing in the way of law enforcement. Add to the mix the fact that yesterday was […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2010-07-29 15:08:072010-07-29 15:08:07Ceremony for Clerk of Georgia Court of Appeals Offers Glimpse into Political Climate
Preserve the Record Alert: Felon in Possession Statutes are Low-Hanging Fruit
/by J. Scott Key, Professor at Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University reports at his blog, Sentencing Law and Policy, that the Seventh Circuit has suggested that a non-violent felon might prevail on a Second Amendment challenge if he brings an as-applied challenge to the Federal Felon in Possession statute (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1))). In U.S. […]
Use Good Story Technique in your Next Appellate Brief
/by J. Scott KeyWho doesn’t like a good story? We start liking them before we know how to read. Trial lawyers generally know that juries like them. But what about appellate writing? Is there a place for story in the appellate brief or at oral argument?There is, and if you start weaving elements of story into your appellate […]
Republican Run-Off for Georgia Attorney General Devolves into Dealth Penalty Smackdown
/by J. Scott KeyI’ve been talking about the Democratic side of the Attorney General election for too long. But what about the Republic side? Georgia is such a red state, that the Democratic ticket is largely irrelevant anyway. Meanwhile, the Republicans are in a run-off. And, as Republicans are apt to do when they square off, the candidates […]
Good Appellate Writing is Not Stuffy or Formalistic
/by J. Scott KeyI love Kendall Gray’s piece on Brevity and the use of conjunctions to start sentences. I, too, learned never to begin a sentence with But or And. It seemed like good advice at the time. But now I have learned that it is not a law of physics. He quotes Professor Wayne Scheiss, who presented […]
Are Law Review Articles Relevant in Georgia or 11th Circuit Appellate Decisions?
/by J. Scott KeyKirk Jenkins, at The Appellate Strategist Blog, poses an interesting question. Does Legal Scholarship Have an Impact on the Work of the Courts? The ABA and some judges say no, and a recent study says yes. Mr. Jenkins quotes United States Chief Justice John Roberts who recently characterized legal scholarship as not “particularly helpful” in […]
U.S. v. Irey: The Return of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the 11th Circuit
/by J. Scott KeyThere is a moment in most great horror movies where the evil presence/bad guy/ghost/homicidal maniac takes out a character who has it coming. For a moment, the audience applauds the wicked antagonist. Think of Jason from Friday the 13th taking out a weaselly teen or the scene in Jurassic Park where the velociraptors eat Dennis […]
Local Politicians are Criticizing the High Costs of Interpreters
/by J. Scott KeyDue Process comes at a price. According to Patrick Fox, in a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it is expensive to provide interpreters for non-English-speaking defendants. In 2009, Gwinnett County paid $539,803 to provide interpreters. With a more diverse population comes an increased need for interpreters. Judge Davis of the Superior Court of Gwinnett […]
The Supreme Court of Georgia Now Allows E-Filing of Briefs
/by J. Scott KeyWhile it feels like August in Georgia, for appellate practitioners it may feel a little like it is Christmas. Today, the Supreme Court of Georgia has begun accepting briefs through its new e-filing system. From today forward, lawyers who are in good standing and members of the State Bar of Georgia and the the Supreme […]
A Very Disturbing Appellate Sanction Story
/by J. Scott KeyJay O’Keeffe, in his blog reports that he is bothered by a recent development involving a lawyer who has been summoned to show cause and explain comments he made in a lower court transcript about the Virginia Supreme Court. Bothered is a mild way to describe my reaction to the story. Put more accurately, I […]
Ceremony for Clerk of Georgia Court of Appeals Offers Glimpse into Political Climate
/by J. Scott KeyThese have been difficult days for the judiciary and for the Court of Appeals in particular. There are three openings on the Court and two branches of government that seem to view the court system as an inconvenient hurdle standing in the way of law enforcement. Add to the mix the fact that yesterday was […]