Georgia Appellate Practice

“Five Ways to Write Like John Roberts”

sladillard — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:58:55 +0000

This is a must-read article for every appellate practitioner (and every litigator, for that matter).

Citing to a record with multiple parts

sladillard — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:11:43 +0000

I recently learned a little tidbit that some of my fellow appellate practitioners may find useful in handling an appeal before the Georgia Court of Appeals. When citing to a record divided into several sections, the most precise way of doing so is as follows: Prt. II, R-435. The staff at the COA refers to the divided sections as parts, rather than volumes. You can still use the Vol. designation, if you wish. The judges, clerks, and staff will certainly know what you’re signifying. But if you want to be precise, I would recommend using the Prt. designation.

It’s a minor point, of course; the sort of thing only a true appellate nerd could possibly care about. Right?

One other thing. If you practice outside of Atlanta, as I do, you need to make sure that either you or your paralegal determines whether the appellate record is being sent up to the COA in multiple parts. The COA makes no adjustments to the trial-court record. This is why it is crucial to prepare an exact copy of the appellate record before it is sent to the COA, including any division of the record into separate parts. The page numbering should extend beyond the divided parts of the appellate record; meaning that the pages numbers will usually not start and stop with each part of the record (i.e., the final page of the final part of the record will be the highest page number). And while a judge or clerk will be able to find your citation with only a page number, that endeavor can be particularly frustrating when the record is divided into multiple parts. For example, in the appeal I just filed with the COA, the record was divided into twelve different parts. Needless to say, you don’t want to make life any harder on those who have the ability to rule in favor of or against your client. To be sure, you’re not going to prevail on appeal simply because your record citations are flawless; but it certainly can’t hurt. You should also keep in mind Ga. Ct. App. R. 25(c)2, which provides as follows:

Unsupported Claim of Error; References to Record and Transcripts. Any enumeration of error which is not supported in the brief by citation of authority or argument may be deemed abandoned.

1. Each enumerated error shall be supported in the brief by specific reference to the record or transcript. In the absence of such reference, the Court will not search for or consider such enumeration.

2. A contention that certain matters are not supported by the record may be answered by reference to particular pages where they appear.

3. Reference to the record should be indicated by specific volume or part of the record and by (R-Page Number of the Record). Reference to the transcript should be indicated by specific volume or part of the transcript and by (T-Page Number of the Transcript). Reference to a motion transcript should be indicated by (MT-Page Number of the Transcript and date of the hearing).

As for me and my house, I am not going to chance having an enumeration of error or argument deemed “abandoned” due to a faulty record citation.

Judge Griffin Bell, RIP

sladillard — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:49:27 +0000

Griffin Bell was a truly great man, and he will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

I was fortunate enough to meet and interview Judge Bell while working on an essay about his tenure on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which you can read here. I cannot even begin to describe what a generous and warm person he was during our brief time together. Indeed, one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received about my writing was from Judge Bell, who loved the essay I had written about him.

The United States has lost a great patriot, and the South has lost one of her modern-day heroes.

Please take a moment today to say a prayer for Judge Bell’s family and friends.

God Bless you Judge Bell. Requiescat in pace.

So you want to file a cert. petition, but you’re not a member of the Supreme Court of Georgia Bar

sladillard — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:05:34 +0000

Here’s what you need to know.

You can go ahead and sign the petition so long as there is another signatory that is a member of the SCOG Bar; but if you actually want to argue the case, then you must be admitted to the bar. You can be sworn in as a member of the bar on the morning of the oral argument, but the application and fee must be delivered to the clerk’s office no later than 9:15 a.m.

For more information, please see this link.

Georgia Appellate Practice: The Treatise

sladillard — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:51:27 +0000

Excellent news. The 2008-09 edition of Georgia Appellate Practice (with forms)* is now available for purchase. If you regularly handle appeals in Georgia, then purchasing this treatise is a wise investment.

*As noted in this blawg’s disclaimer, this website is neither affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the authors of Georgia Appellate Practice.

Welcome!

sladillard — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:03:31 +0000

The purpose of this blawg is straightforward: to address issues related to appellate practice and procedure in Georgia; highlight noteworthy decisions from the Court of Appeals of Georgia and Supreme Court of Georgia (and perhaps even a decision or two from the Eleventh Circuit every once in a while); and offer general commentary on appellate practice, legal writing, and other topics of interest to appellate practitioners.

Needless to say, this blawg is a “work in progress.” I am in the process of adding links to the sidebar that I hope appellate practitioners will find useful, as well as tweaking the overall design/scope of this website. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism about this blawg, please do not hesitate to email me.

I look forward to working on this “labor of love,” and hope that many of you will become regular readers of Georgia Appellate Practice and part of this blawg’s community.