HB 349 has been the subject of much discussion for its sentencing innovations. However, nestled within it are some significant changes to the appellate code. This post will familiarize you with the appellate provisions of HB 349 and provide some tips to get around them. Pre-HB 349 Under the soon to be old law, any… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Supreme Court of Georgia
Subscribe to Supreme Court of Georgia RSS FeedCongratulations Justice Blackwell
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaGovernor Deal has announced that Judge Keith Blackwell will be the Supreme Court’s newest Justice. He will fill the vacancy created by Chief Justice Carley’s retirement. I have gotten to know Judge Blackwell through my work on the Appellate Practice Section. He will be a great addition to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Ex-Magistrate’s Lawsuit Blackens Eye of Ga. Judiciary
Posted in News, Opinions and Analysis, Supreme Court of GeorgiaThis won’t end well. Anthony Peters, the former Catoosa County assistant Magistrate Judge has filed a civil rights suit against the his former boss as well as the Sheriff of Catoosa County. When I read Joy Lukachick’s article (hat tip to her) in the Chattanooga Times Free Press about the lawsuit, I had to pull the… Continue Reading
An Update to the Typography Post
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Georgia, WritingThis week, I received an email from Don Roch at Bowers & Roch in Canton, Georgia, in response to a post on a CLE talk I gave on typography. He took issue with my claim that, in Georgia appellate courts, you are stuck with Courier New 12 or Times New Roman 14. Don did a… Continue Reading
My Controversial Talk on Typography (No Kidding)
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Georgia, Uncategorized, WritingIf you read this blog regularly, it is no secret that I am a recent convert and evangelist for Matthew Butterick’s Typography for Lawyers. I have a long way to go in my legal writing before I reach a point of mastery, but I am happy to be paying attention. One of the chairs for… Continue Reading
Erroneous Verdict Form = New Trial
Posted in Opinions and Analysis, Supreme Court of Georgia, UncategorizedOn Tuesday, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Fulton man’s convictions would be reversed due to an improperly worded verdict form. Cheddersingh v. State, S11A1929. In 2008, Soniel Cheddersingh was convicted of malice murder, aggravated assault, armed robbery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and possession of firearm by… Continue Reading
Granted Petitions on Criminal Cases for the Month of September
Posted in News, Opinions and Analysis, Supreme Court of Georgia, UncategorizedThe Supreme Court has granted two petitions for certiorari and one application for discretionary appeal so far this month. Below is an overview of each case Bunn v. State In its Order granting Cert., from September 6, 2011, the Court notes that it is particularly concerned with the following issue: Does the Child Hearsay Statute… Continue Reading
Video Arraignments are a Step in the Right Direction
Posted in Attorney-Client Relationship, Motion for New Trial, Oral Argument, State Habeas Corpus, Supreme Court of Georgia, UncategorizedAbove 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
Lessons I Learned from This Month’s Appellate Losses
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Georgia, UncategorizedIt’s been a bad month for my most recent crop of Supreme Court cases, both in terms of cases where I represent the party and in cases where I am amicus counsel. But I try to learn from them all. And here’s my takeaway from the month. To have and cite a case is not… Continue Reading
Uniform Rule on Electronic Court Filing: A Step in the Right Direction For Georgia
Posted in News, Supreme Court of Georgia, WritingYesterday, I noticed that there is a proposed rule from the State Bar of Georgia to provide for electronic filing in Georgia courts. Of course, it’s just a proposed rule (PDF). And what comes of it may be simply a model rule for trial courts to follow if they choose to allow electronic filing. But… Continue Reading
E-Filing is the Talk of the Georgia Bar Meeting
Posted in News, Record on Appeal, Supreme Court of GeorgiaTwo 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
How Much Longer Before The Georgia Appellate Court Rules?
Posted in Attorney-Client Relationship, Georgia Court of Appeals, Oral Argument, Supreme Court of GeorgiaAs a father of three children (one still in a car seat and one in a booster) and as an appeals lawyer in Georgia, I get two recurring and related questions. From the children, on car trips, I frequently hear, “Are we there yet?” From my clients and their families, I frequently hear, “when will… Continue Reading
Is the Exclusionary Rule the New Hot Appellate Issue in Georgia?
Posted in News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaIf any case qualifies as an old chestnut, it would be Mapp v. Ohio, the landmark case that provided that evidence gathered in violation of a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights should be excluded from use at trial. Restricting the use of illegally-gathered evidence is the punishment for the illegal conduct. If there’s a case that… Continue Reading
Georgia Appeals Court Rules “Mandate Ugliness”
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Georgia, WritingIn his blog yesterday, Kendall Gray referenced the Rules of the Georgia Court of Appeals, citing it as “a jurisdiction with rule-mandated ugliness.” Kendall’s blog post comes at a time when I am reading Typography for Lawyers by William Butterick. I’ve learned a great deal about fonts and layout and was all excited about using… Continue Reading
Nahmias and McFadden Win Election to Georgia Supreme Court and Georgia Court of Appeals
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaJustice David Nahmias and Judge-Elect Christopher McFadden have been elected respectively to the Supreme Court of Georgia and Georgia Court of Appeals. Both won by wide margins. Georgia votes made the right choice in both elections. Justice Nahmias is likely to continue to do excellent work on the Court. I look forward to his well-reasoned… Continue Reading
Georgia Appeals Election Day
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaIf you haven’t already done so, please vote in today’s election. Polls close at 7:00 p.m. this evening. I voted at 8:00 a.m. this morning, and the woman at my precinct told me that I was only the fifth voter to darken their doors. This is a very important election, and much is at stake…. Continue Reading
So, About the Rest of My Ballot for Georgia Appeals Seats
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaI recently wrote about my decision to vote for Justice Nahmias over challenger Tammy Lynn Adkins. That post was picked up by Aly Palmer on the ATL Law Blog, the blog of the Fulton Daily Report. The post has generated thoughtful emails to me about the election. I hope that you’ll research the candidates yourselves… Continue Reading
Georgia Supreme Court Establishes Constitutional Right to Interpreter
Posted in News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaI’m not just posting about Ling v. Georgia (PDF) because I’m her criminal appeals lawyer. Although it is pretty nice to have lost a motion for new trial and an appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeal and ultimely win in the Supreme Court on cert. while helping to secure a new substantive new substantive… Continue Reading
The Curious Way the Media is Covering Georgia Judicial Run-Offs
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of GeorgiaAs I mentioned in a previous post, there are two run-offs for Georgia appellate seats — one for the Georgia Court of Appeals and one for the Supreme Court of Georgia. According to the Atlanta Law Blog, the Blog for the Fulton Daily Report, there are many judicial seats that will be decided by a… Continue Reading
Two Georgia Appeals Seats Headed to a Runoff
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaThere will be two run-offs for Georgia appellate seats. Justice David Nahmias, who was appointed to finish the term of Justice Leah Sears, won 48.2% of the votes. He will be in a run-off against Tammy Lynn Adkins, who achieved 35.2% of the vote in spite of the fact that she did not run a… Continue Reading
A Guide to Depositions for Georgia Criminal Appeals Lawyers
Posted in Motion for New Trial, Preservation of Error, Supreme Court of GeorgiaA few months ago, the unthinkable happened on a habeas corpus case I am doing in South Georgia. The judge “suggested” that I handle some witnesses on a particular issue by deposition. There were all kinds of good reasons for it. The witnesses were spead out all over the State. I will probably get to… Continue Reading
E-filing in the Georgia Court of Appeals versus the Supreme Court
Posted in Georgia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of GeorgiaI have been E-filing in the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court since both courts started offering it. I can’t tell you enough about how great it is to be able to upload a pdf rather than do all of the other archaic stuff that is involved in paper filing a brief…. Continue Reading
Weekend Music About People who Need a Criminal Appellate Lawyer
Posted in Supreme Court of GeorgiaMusic is replete with songs about people who had some bad stuff happen to them at their trial and who need an appellate lawyer. So, I am kicking off a weekly series featuring songs about people who need a good criminal appeals or habeas lawyer. To kick things off, let’s listen to Steve Earle from… Continue Reading
Local Politicians are Criticizing the High Costs of Interpreters
Posted in News, Supreme Court of GeorgiaDue Process comes at a price. According to Patrick Fox, in a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it is expensive to provide interpreters for non-English-speaking defendants. In 2009, Gwinnett County paid $539,803 to provide interpreters. With a more diverse population comes an increased need for interpreters. Judge Davis of the Superior Court of Gwinnett… Continue Reading
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