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

Category Archives: Record on Appeal

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Two New Cases Warn Lawyers to Tend to the Record on Appeal

By Scott Key on Posted in Record on Appeal, Uncategorized

Two recent cases from the Court of Appeals demonstrate the need to put the appellate record together in a reasonable time period, the need to respond to post-trial motion regarding the record with the statutory time frame, and to be vigilant that the record stays together as the case moves its way through the court… Continue Reading

What to Do When Litigating in “Foreign Lands”

By Scott Key on Posted in Motion for New Trial, Oral Argument, Preservation of Error, Record on Appeal

Last week, I had a post-conviction motion in a county where I never practice. The motion is under advisement, so I won’t go into the particulars about it or what happened at the argument. I write today about the things I did before the hearing started and I plan to do those things even when… Continue Reading

E-Filing is the Talk of the Georgia Bar Meeting

By Scott Key on Posted in News, Record on Appeal, Supreme Court of Georgia

Two days at the annual meeting of the State Bar of Georgia in Myrtle Beach have given me enough material for a week of blogging. For today, the big news is that the Supreme Court will mandate e-filing for all attorneys before the end of the summer and will create a system for submission of… Continue Reading

Overcoming Fear to Make a Record in Georgia Appeals Cases with Juveniles

By Scott Key on Posted in Record on Appeal

Last Friday, I spoke at a conference in Atlanta devoted to training attorneys who represent parents in juvenile deprivation hearings. The overall conference was devoted to representing parents in juvenile court. And the focus of my topic was preserving a record for appeal in juvenile court.  I still do cases out of juvenile court from… Continue Reading

Stop Treating Motions for New Trial Like a Rubber Stamp (Even if They Are)

By Scott Key on Posted in Motion for New Trial, Preservation of Error, Record on Appeal, Writing

Judges seldom grant motions for new trial. I have various theories about why. And they range from being sympathetic to the judge to utter cynicism. Sometimes, there just wasn’t any harmful error. Sometimes, the judge couldn’t fathom that he made a mistake. Sometimes, it’s just too dang expensive to try the thing twice. And some… Continue Reading

Managing Motions for Mistrial in Georgia to Preserve Them for Appeal

By Scott Key on Posted in Preservation of Error, Record on Appeal

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… Continue Reading

Grand Jury Investigation Questions Georgia Court Reporter Fees

By Scott Key on Posted in News, Record on Appeal

The Atlanta Journal reports that a Cobb County, Georgia, grand jury has serious concerns about the fact that court reporters in that county earn a salary and also charge the county and private attorneys highway robbery fees to produce transcripts. The article evokes all sorts of thoughts for me about the frustrations that accompany getting… Continue Reading