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Table Of Cases

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

There Is No Such Thing As A Free Question: Examining The Hidden Costs Of Trial Advocacy, Michelle Schieber

Mercer Law Review

Readers of Robert H. Klonoff and Paul L. Colby's new book on trial tactics might well be surprised by the authors' frequent references to fictional works such as Presumed Innocent and Perry Mason. A reader might even go so far as to conclude that the text which he has undertaken to peruse is somewhat radical. But if the reader also assumes that the authors' quirky approach has resulted in a book without merit, then he would be very wrong indeed.

Telling Stories: The Spoken Narrative Tradition In Criminal Defense Discourse, Laura Gardner Webster

Mercer Law Review

Near the end of the Criminal Procedure course that I teach, I assigned the case of Cuyler v. Sullivan, a treacherously complex decision grounded in the sixth amendment right to conflict-free counsel in criminal trials. While the case demonstrates the intricacies of federal habeas corpus review of state criminal convictions, I do not find it absorbing for that reason. I assign it because the respondent, John Sullivan, having successfully urged his claim before the United States Supreme Court, died in the jail in which he had spent most of the previous twenty years of his life.

Cross-Examination, David L. Lewis

Mercer Law Review

Cross-examination is a force of nature, an unswept intangible force of the universe harnessed in a small space for a very short time at best. It is akin to a newly created element seeking a place on the periodic table. Cross-examination is also the hunger of the wolf and the thirst for justice. It does not admit to being tied to a theory but only to being capable of absorbing life's breath. Good cross-examination begins with the very breath of life, complete with passion and righteousness. It is a terrible, swift sword.

The Defendant As A Witness, Alex Zipperer

Mercer Law Review

Few tactical decisions facing the criminal defense lawyer are as problematic as the decision whether to present evidence on behalf of the defense, and particularly whether to have the defendant testify. Trial lawyering cannot be practiced effectively by simply "going by the book." There are no definitive studies, nor can there be, to tell us what the general rule should be in deciding whether the defendant should testify, or otherwise present evidence in any given case. The nature of the criminal trial does not lend itself to a neat set of rules one pulls out of the hip pocket and …

Political Trials, Ephraim Margolin

Mercer Law Review

In Political Criminal Trials, John Sink distinguished between cases in which the defendant admits the deeds, but invokes political reasons as a justification, and cases in which the prosecution proceeds against suspects for political reasons of its own. Each category of case is tried differently. Each compels a different approach to the handling of the media.

The Advocate And The Media: The Courthouse Basement, Edward S, Mccallum Iii

Mercer Law Review

The coffee shop at the bottom of the well-worn stairs was not its usual flurry of jibes and clinking dishes. The frantic faces of young attorneys and the sly smiles of experienced advocates that normally graced the dingy tables were gone for the day. All that remained was a waitress brewing one last pot of coffee for the five criminal defense attorneys who somewhat anxiously, somewhat objectively were awaiting the verdict on their five co-defendants. The trial had lasted two tense and turbulent weeks, and now it was 6:30 p.m. The media had covered the case from day one, and …

Literature, History, And Quotations: A New Perspective On An Old Technique, Peter A. Chang Jr., Elton B. Richey Jr.

Mercer Law Review

It was getting late. Outside, the sounds of the five o'clock traffic died down, and the grey twilight of a cold winter's day descended across empty streets and sidewalks. Across the square, the clock on the old church rang out the half-hour. Darkness was taking over inside as well. The grey twilight slipped through the windows and rolled like fog down the stairs and hallways of the aged building on Liberty Street, making the orange glow spilling out of the office at the end of the hall seem warmer still. Exasperated, the apprentice turned to the advocate.

The Art Of War And The Art Of Trial Advocacy: Is There Common Ground?, Christopher D. Balch

Mercer Law Review

The most difficult task for me as a future litigator is to define a frame of reference within which to practice the art of advocacy. While law school offers many courses in trial practice, mock trial, and litigation drafting, there is little opportunity to coalesce these segments into a complete strategy for trial advocacy. In order to begin to make sense of the pieces, I needed to define a working model within which to place them. The most obvious place to start was with the oft quoted analogy that trial is civilized combat.

Defending The Death Penalty Case: What Makes Death Different?, Andrea D. Lyon

Mercer Law Review

The United States Supreme Court has said time and again that "death is different." Lately, reading the Court's decisions makes the death penalty defense attorney wonder why, in those cases in which the imposition of the death penalty is the greatest, it is seemingly all right to have the most conviction-prone jury, a racially biased history of the death penalty's imposition, and fewer procedural safeguards.

Calling Your Attention To The Direct Examination: How To Avoid The What Happened Next Question, Christina L. Hunt

Mercer Law Review

When presenting a direct examination, whether it'is the testimony of your client or of another witness, you must remember one thing-prepare your case. Without preparation, a number of consequences inevitably follow:

1. you will definitely lose your client's case;
2. your client will call you every day and drive you insane;
3. your client will then proceed to the penitentiary;
4. he will say unflattering things' about you (and you will deserve it);
5. you will lose potential new clients;
6. he will file habeas corpus papers pro se;
7. he also will sue you for millions of dollars, and, he will do that pro …

Admissibility Of Video-Taped Testimony: What Is The Standard After Maryland V. Craig And How Will The Practicing Defense Attorney Be Affected?, Christopher A. Whitlock

Mercer Law Review

In Maryland v. Craig, the Supreme Court addressed "whether the [c]onfrontation [c]lause of the [s]ixth [a]mendment categorically prohibits a child witness in a child abuse case from testifying against a defendant at trial, outside the defendant's physical presence, by one-way closed circuit television." The majority, in an opinion written by Justice O'Connor, held that provided the trial court makes a case-specific finding of necessity, the confrontation clause does not prohibit a state from using a one-way closed-circuit. television procedure for receiving testimony by a child witness in a child sexual abuse case.