Senate Candidate Loeffler Attacks Collins for Work as a Defense Attorney
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
3y ago
In a recent ad, incumber Senator Kelly Loeffler has attacked challenger Doug Collins for purportedly being a criminal defense attorney, having a website that advertised for clients, and for accepting appointed cases. Her campaign website posted a list of Georgia sheriffs who condemned Collins for his “criminal defense history.” Sen. Loeffler presumably had the assistance of criminal defense counsel when the FBI investigated her for insider trading last Spring. Senator Burr, who was also investigated in that probe, employed a criminal defense attorney, who (like Collins), has a website. It app ..read more
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Why the Upcoming Amendment to the Georgia Court of Appeals Rules is a Good Idea
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
3y ago
Beginning on August 1, a single dissent in a three-judge Court of Appeals case will no longer remove its value as precedent for future cases, nor will one judge’s disagreement with the reasoning of the case. Here is the text of new Court of Appeals rule 33.2: If an appeal is decided by a division of this Court or by the Court sitting en banc, a published opinion in which a majority of the judges fully concur in the rationale and judgment of the decision is binding precedent. According to Chief Judge McFadden, “This rule change brings the Court of Appeals of Georgia in line with other federal ..read more
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Toward the Post-Monument Era
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
If you have practiced law for any time in Georgia, you have walked by Confederate monuments. The smaller and more remote the jurisdiction, the greater the likelihood that you walked beneath the shadow of a Confederate soldier, general, or political figure on your walk to court. Recently, the county commission in Henry County, Georgia, voted 4-1 to remove the Confederate monument on the square. This one is steps from my office. It is slated to come down within 60 days. Leon Stafford, of the Atlanta Journal, writes, “[a] Confederate monument in McDonough’s square will be removed in the next 60 d ..read more
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Qualified Immunity: The Ultimate Product of Judicial Activism
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
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 even broader class of government workers. In either event, the rollback of qualified immunity is an important step for increased government accountability. In this brief post, I will discuss what qualified immunity is and how it came about. Then I will briefly make the case that ..read more
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An Expanded Direction of Practice (Inspired by a Bout of Insomnia)
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
(pardon the typos. It’s 2:17 a.m.) The quarantine has been a time of reflection. I think I remember what a courtroom looks like. And if quarantine were not bad enough, the steady stream of political and racial upheaval fed to me all over the news and various social media outlets has me itching for a trial. Alas, trials aren’t happening. I read somewhere that one judge tried to have a trial, and a Coronavirus flare-up happened. Another judge tried to do a trial by Zoom, and a juror took a phone call during trial. We have been good over here. We’ve efiled things left and right. And we’ve receive ..read more
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It’s Okay to Turn off the News
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
Before all the CoVid-19 stuff, I read the news exactly once per week. I experienced the entire Trump impeachment episode in weekly installments at brunch. I allowed myself the Sunday New York Times and the Sunday Atlanta Journal. Also, I did not allow myself to click on any “news” shared over social media. My only other requirement was alcohol. News is best experienced with an extremely spicy bloody mary or incredibly fizzy mimosa. If I made an exception it would be for a very local newspaper. When I entered quarantine, I started breaking my own rules. And I allowed the news to creep back in ..read more
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5 Lessons on Being a Better Advocate from The Rainmaker
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
The Rainmaker is available on Netflix. In my earlier snobbier days I scoffed at lawyer movies and written legal thrillers. I’m either not as picky as I once was, or I’ve learned to find actual value in this kind of entertainment in spite of the inaccuracies. I’ll start with a no-spoilers overview of the plot and proceed to tell you my five big takeaways from the film. Rudy Baylor (Matt Damon) plays a recent law school graduate who goes to work for shady personal injury lawyer, Bruiser Stone (Mickey Rourke). Assisted by Bruiser’s long-time law clerk, Deck Shifflet (Danny DeVito), a guy who can ..read more
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Bravo to the Fulton County, Georgia, Appellate Division!
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
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 considerable discretion. However, some prosecutors are frustrated with the law as it applies to the thirteenth juror. After a recent set of opinions on thirteenth-juror appeals, the Supreme Court encourage prosecutors to stop bringing them. The additional wrinkle in the re ..read more
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Thoughts on Working On The Go and the Fluidity of The Office
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
I listened to a recent podcast where a ultrarunner Dean Karnazes talked (among other things) about how he writes books while he is running using the voice memos app that I am working on right now. He records notes and comes back and transcribes them when he is done with his run. This lets him be out and about and get work done at the same time. I want to give this a shot. I think it’s important not to see work as modal but as something that can be done from virtually anyplace. I don’t know about writing briefs while running because the reference materials won’t be there (running while accessin ..read more
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Change Form for Better Proofing
Georgia Criminal Appellate Law Blog
by Scott Key
4y ago
The best way to find the typos in a document is to file it or turn it in. When you take a look at it a few minutes later, they will stand out in a way that they had not previously — no matter how much time you spent reviewing your work before. I have a few theories on what is going on here. For one, your brain is anxious to get this all over with. Also, as your eyes scan the page your brain hears the words that you intended to write. Your brain takes the words on the page and filters out the typos. Your brain does not generally do this for the work of other people. Keep in mind perfect writing ..read more
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