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

Category Archives: State Habeas Corpus

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Video Arraignments are a Step in the Right Direction

By Scott Key on Posted in Attorney-Client Relationship, Motion for New Trial, Oral Argument, State Habeas Corpus, Supreme Court of Georgia, Uncategorized

Above the Law has a good recent post on the use of video arraignments and how judges find that the process makes them feel safer. I don’t know whether video Arraignments make the process any safer or not. But the process certainly makes the process more efficient. In fact, many of the rituals of court… Continue Reading

The Importance of Being a Good Witness at a Habeas or Motion for New Trial

By Scott Key on Posted in State Habeas Corpus

There’s a side effect of having a robust appellate practice in Georgia. If you handled the appeal, and your client has a lengthy prison sentence, you will likely become a witness as your former client tries to demonstrate your ineffectiveness. In Georgia, the client has the right to effective assistance of counsel during the trial… Continue Reading

A Habeas Lawyer’s Duty to Discourage and Turn Down Certain Cases

By Scott Key on Posted in Attorney-Client Relationship, State Habeas Corpus

Law is a business. But it’s not just a business. It’s a calling that brings with it certain duties to advise with the client’s best interest above the lawyer’s profit motive. If there’s a theme that runs throughout the stories clients and families tell me at consultation, it’s hopelessness combined with desparation and mistrust. By… Continue Reading

Hames Case From Ga. Supreme Court Haunts Original Lawyer

By Scott Key on Posted in State Habeas Corpus, Supreme Court of Georgia

The Walton County Examiner features an interview with Anthony Carter, Joshua Hames’s original lawyer. Mr. Hames just had his conviction for felony murder related to a hunting accident over seven years ago, reversed on appeal In that interview, Mr. Carter explains that the case still haunts him and that he followed it after he was… Continue Reading