In a recent ad, incumber Senator Kelly Loeffler has attacked challenger Doug Collins for purportedly being a criminal defense attorney, having a website that advertised for clients, and for accepting appointed cases. Her campaign website posted a list of Georgia sheriffs who condemned Collins for his “criminal defense history.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh9whAOo7cI&feature=youtu.be Sen. Loeffler presumably had the […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2020-07-28 13:15:462020-07-28 13:15:46Senate Candidate Loeffler Attacks Collins for Work as a Defense Attorney
Beginning on August 1, a single dissent in a three-judge Court of Appeals case will no longer remove its value as precedent for future cases, nor will one judge’s disagreement with the reasoning of the case. Here is the text of new Court of Appeals rule 33.2: If an appeal is decided by a division […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2020-07-27 13:50:582020-07-27 13:50:58Why the Upcoming Amendment to the Georgia Court of Appeals Rules is a Good Idea
If you have practiced law for any time in Georgia, you have walked by Confederate monuments. The smaller and more remote the jurisdiction, the greater the likelihood that you walked beneath the shadow of a Confederate soldier, general, or political figure on your walk to court. Recently, the county commission in Henry County, Georgia, voted […]
Congress will soon take up multiple bills to pull back the doctrine of Qualified Immunity. In the House, a bill has been introduced that would roll back Qualified Immunity as it relates to law enforcement and corrections officers. In the Senate, a bill is pending that would roll back qualified immunity as applied to an […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2020-06-09 12:32:132020-06-09 12:32:13Qualified Immunity: The Ultimate Product of Judicial Activism
(pardon the typos. It’s 2:17 a.m.) The quarantine has been a time of reflection. I think I remember what a courtroom looks like. And if quarantine were not bad enough, the steady stream of political and racial upheaval fed to me all over the news and various social media outlets has me itching for a […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2020-06-03 02:17:582020-06-03 02:17:58An Expanded Direction of Practice (Inspired by a Bout of Insomnia)
Before all the CoVid-19 stuff, I read the news exactly once per week. I experienced the entire Trump impeachment episode in weekly installments at brunch. I allowed myself the Sunday New York Times and the Sunday Atlanta Journal. Also, I did not allow myself to click on any “news” shared over social media. My only […]
The Rainmaker is available on Netflix. In my earlier snobbier days I scoffed at lawyer movies and written legal thrillers. I’m either not as picky as I once was, or I’ve learned to find actual value in this kind of entertainment in spite of the inaccuracies. I’ll start with a no-spoilers overview of the plot […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2019-12-15 19:53:232019-12-15 19:53:235 Lessons on Being a Better Advocate from The Rainmaker
Recently, the Supreme Court issued a new opinion. It was not a particularly earth-shattering opinion. There is a statute that allows the trial judge to as as the thirteenth juror if he believes that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. The appellate courts will affirm such decisions unless the judge abused his […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2019-11-16 13:14:362019-11-16 13:14:36Bravo to the Fulton County, Georgia, Appellate Division!
I listened to a recent podcast where a ultrarunner Dean Karnazes talked (among other things) about how he writes books while he is running using the voice memos app that I am working on right now. He records notes and comes back and transcribes them when he is done with his run. This lets him […]
00J. Scott Key/wp-content/uploads/SK-Logo-Black-White.pngJ. Scott Key2019-11-11 10:17:352019-11-11 10:17:35Thoughts on Working On The Go and the Fluidity of The Office
The best way to find the typos in a document is to file it or turn it in. When you take a look at it a few minutes later, they will stand out in a way that they had not previously — no matter how much time you spent reviewing your work before. I have […]
Senate Candidate Loeffler Attacks Collins for Work as a Defense Attorney
/by J. Scott KeyIn a recent ad, incumber Senator Kelly Loeffler has attacked challenger Doug Collins for purportedly being a criminal defense attorney, having a website that advertised for clients, and for accepting appointed cases. Her campaign website posted a list of Georgia sheriffs who condemned Collins for his “criminal defense history.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh9whAOo7cI&feature=youtu.be Sen. Loeffler presumably had the […]
Why the Upcoming Amendment to the Georgia Court of Appeals Rules is a Good Idea
/by J. Scott KeyBeginning on August 1, a single dissent in a three-judge Court of Appeals case will no longer remove its value as precedent for future cases, nor will one judge’s disagreement with the reasoning of the case. Here is the text of new Court of Appeals rule 33.2: If an appeal is decided by a division […]
Toward the Post-Monument Era
/by J. Scott KeyIf you have practiced law for any time in Georgia, you have walked by Confederate monuments. The smaller and more remote the jurisdiction, the greater the likelihood that you walked beneath the shadow of a Confederate soldier, general, or political figure on your walk to court. Recently, the county commission in Henry County, Georgia, voted […]
Qualified Immunity: The Ultimate Product of Judicial Activism
/by J. Scott KeyCongress will soon take up multiple bills to pull back the doctrine of Qualified Immunity. In the House, a bill has been introduced that would roll back Qualified Immunity as it relates to law enforcement and corrections officers. In the Senate, a bill is pending that would roll back qualified immunity as applied to an […]
An Expanded Direction of Practice (Inspired by a Bout of Insomnia)
/by J. Scott Key(pardon the typos. It’s 2:17 a.m.) The quarantine has been a time of reflection. I think I remember what a courtroom looks like. And if quarantine were not bad enough, the steady stream of political and racial upheaval fed to me all over the news and various social media outlets has me itching for a […]
It’s Okay to Turn off the News
/by J. Scott KeyBefore all the CoVid-19 stuff, I read the news exactly once per week. I experienced the entire Trump impeachment episode in weekly installments at brunch. I allowed myself the Sunday New York Times and the Sunday Atlanta Journal. Also, I did not allow myself to click on any “news” shared over social media. My only […]
5 Lessons on Being a Better Advocate from The Rainmaker
/by J. Scott KeyThe Rainmaker is available on Netflix. In my earlier snobbier days I scoffed at lawyer movies and written legal thrillers. I’m either not as picky as I once was, or I’ve learned to find actual value in this kind of entertainment in spite of the inaccuracies. I’ll start with a no-spoilers overview of the plot […]
Bravo to the Fulton County, Georgia, Appellate Division!
/by J. Scott KeyRecently, the Supreme Court issued a new opinion. It was not a particularly earth-shattering opinion. There is a statute that allows the trial judge to as as the thirteenth juror if he believes that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. The appellate courts will affirm such decisions unless the judge abused his […]
Thoughts on Working On The Go and the Fluidity of The Office
/by J. Scott KeyI listened to a recent podcast where a ultrarunner Dean Karnazes talked (among other things) about how he writes books while he is running using the voice memos app that I am working on right now. He records notes and comes back and transcribes them when he is done with his run. This lets him […]
Change Form for Better Proofing
/by J. Scott KeyThe best way to find the typos in a document is to file it or turn it in. When you take a look at it a few minutes later, they will stand out in a way that they had not previously — no matter how much time you spent reviewing your work before. I have […]