Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog Offering Insight on the Practice of Appellate Law and Commentary from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

Category Archives: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals

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Judge Beverly Martin Provides Picture of the Perfect Oral Argument

By Scott Key on Posted in 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Oral Argument

Judge Beverly Martin of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals spoke to the Georgia Bar’s Appellate Practice Section yesterday on the subject of “What Makes an Effective Appellate Advocate.” More specifically, her focus was on effective oral argument. I’ve heard many talks on this topic, and I read about it all the time. I even write… Continue Reading

Third Circuit: Mere Physical Proximity of Guns to Drugs Not Enough for Sentencing Enhancement

By Scott Key on Posted in 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, News

Caroline Vodzak  reports at Vodzaklegal that the Third Circuit has found that mere spatial proximity of guns to drugs is not sufficient to enhance a defendant’s sentence of drug possession without a specific finding of fact that the gun “facilitated or had the potential for facilitating the possession of drugs.”  Mr. West was caught in… Continue Reading

11th Circuit Reverses Conviction on Failure to Charge on Reliance on Advice

By Scott Key on Posted in 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, Opinions and Analysis, Preservation of Error

Professor Ellen S. Podgor reports in her White Collar Criminal Prof Blog that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed several convictions in Kottwitz.pdf because of a trial court’s failure to charge the jury on the defendants’s good faith reliance upon an accountant’s advice. The Court has also held that, regardless of the strength… Continue Reading

U.S. v. Irey: The Return of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the 11th Circuit

By Scott Key on Posted in 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, News, Opinions and Analysis

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… Continue Reading

11th Circuit: Lawsuit Against Clayton County, GA DA Can Move Forward

By Scott Key on Posted in 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, News

Bill Rankin at the AJC reports that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a Federal District Court’s dismissal against former Clayton County District Attorney for an alleged violation of his First Amendment right to Free Speech. This is the latest chapter in what was a debacle of a tenure for. Mrs. Scott as… Continue Reading