Opinions and Analysis
Qualified Immunity: The Ultimate Product of Judicial Activism
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…
Read MoreBravo to the Fulton County, Georgia, Appellate Division!
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…
Read MoreIt’s a Gray Day in Georgia for Motions to Modify Sentence
There is an important new case that changes the law concerning motions to modify sentence in Georgia. In Gray v. State, a case published on August 26, 2019, the Court of Appeals held that trial courts lose jurisdiction, under O.C.G.A. Section 17-10-1(f), to modify criminal sentences following either 120 days after the remittitur where there…
Read MoreRoundup and Update on a Recent Amicus Success
I’ll write more on this case later, but I wanted to provide a quick update on a recent case. This week, the Supreme Court of Georgia held that the State cannot use against defendants in DUI trials evidence of their refusal to take a chemical test. While the United States Supreme Court has held otherwise,…
Read MoreEnough with the Allen Charges — Readable and Entertaining 11th Cir. Opinion
I enjoy reading opinions by Eleventh Circuit Judge, Ed Carnes. And Brewster v. Hetzel may be my new favorite. It’s a rare habeas case out of Alabama (or anywhere) where the habeas petitioner wins. And the subject matter is a deadlocked jury and the lengths a trial court went to flip the holdouts for acquittal.…
Read MoreA Quick Explanation of the Holding in the New SCOG DUI Case
There has been much talk in the media about Olevik v. State. My algebra teacher long ago would make me “show my work” on tests and sometimes at the chalkboard. I’ve linked to the opinion where you can see where the Supreme Court has shown its work in 49 pages of legal writing. But I’ll…
Read MoreNew 11th Circuit Interpretation of a Portion of the Sentencing Guidelines
One of the hats I wear is that of the Federal opinions editor for a caselaw update that the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers publishes monthly. It has been a slow month for Eleventh Circuit Opinions. But there is one that I will be writing up. And this blog post will pull double duty…
Read MoreNinth Circuit Refuses to Lift Stay of Republican Administration’s Travel Ban
Moments ago, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that the temporary restraining order imposed on the Republican presidential administration’s travel ban will remain in place. The Court has found that the states of Washington and Minnesota have standing to challenge the ban, that the Republican administration is unlikely to prevail on the merits in the…
Read MoreTrump Administrative Order on Travel Likely to Withstand Legal Challenge
Adam Liptak has a comprehensive article in today’s New York Times over nationwide appellate proceedings regarding President Trump’s Executive Order banning travel from several Middle Eastern nations. The article tracks the progress of an order from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington staying enforcement of much of the Executive Order.…
Read MoreHow Might Judge Gorsuch Decide Criminal Cases on the Supreme Court?
At the start of this week, I penned a post critical of how President Trump handled the firing of Sally Yates. Today, I write to commend his nomination of Judge Gorsuch for the United States Supreme Court. Textualists and the criminal appellate bar are natural allies. And such is the case with this pick. I want…
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