Law Commons^™

Appellate Practice And Procedure, Marion T. Pope Jr., Ann H. Kelley

Mercer Law Review

Practitioners in Georgia's state appellate courts recognize that the most important step in the appellate process is to first ascertain the proper procedure to insure that their appeal is properly before the court, Because the statutory and decisional law governing appellate practice and procedure is not immutable, the appellate practitioner must consistently strive to stay abreast of the law in this area. With these thoughts in mind, this Article will survey selected opinions of Georgia's state appellate courts pertaining to appellate practice and procedure rendered during the period from June 1, 1988 to May 31, 1991. The Article will also …

Misuse Of The Antitrust Laws: The Competitor Plaintiff, Edward A. Snyder, Thomas E. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

In this article we ask (1) under what circumstances are competitor suits meritorious, and (2) do existing rules, such as those requiring proof of market power or other so-called filters and the requirement that plaintiffs suffer "antitrust injury," afford a reasonable prospect of eliminating anticompetitive misuses of the remedy by competitor plaintiffs? We evaluate a sample of seventy-four cases in which plaintiffs sued their rivals to learn how competitor plaintiffs use the private antitrust remedy. And because many of these cases allege anticompetitive exclusionary practices, we consider how recent theories of exclusionary practices may be used to support competitor claims. …

Personal Jurisdiction Over Aliens In Patent Infringement Actions: A Uniform Approach Toward The Situs Of The Tort, David Wille

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines current approaches to the question of personal jurisdiction over alien patent infringers. Part I describes personal jurisdiction requirements in the context of patent infringement suits against aliens. The leading case addressing these requirements has been interpreted differently by several courts, thus resulting in conflicting outcomes. Part II explains the current controversy over the locus of the tort of patent infringement. The three different modes of reasoning currently used by courts to determine the locus of the tort would allow immunity from suit for the alien in at least two hypothetical cases. This Part concludes that in order …

Litigation, E. D'Angelo

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Litigation, E. D'Angelo, R. Fellmeth, V. Rabago

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Trial Practice And Procedure, Molly Townes O'Brien

Mercer Law Review

If "[t]he history of liberty has largely been the history of the observance of procedural safeguards," then 1990 should be regarded as a fine year in the history of liberty. In this year's rulings, the Eleventh Circuit required the district courts to scrutinize in forma pauperis complaints carefully before dismissing them as frivolous and demanded that pro se parties receive express written notice that they must file affidavits in response to a motion for summary judgment. The Eleventh Circuit was also unusually receptive this year to claims by nonresident defendants that the court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over them would …

Litigation, E. Angelo, J. Miller, V. Rabago

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The World In Our Courts, Stephen B. Burbank

Michigan Law Review

A Review of International Civil Litigation in United States Courts: Commentary and Materials by Gary B. Born and David Westin

United States Department Of Labor V. Triplett: Black Lung Claimants Will Continue To Suffer From A Lack Of Legal Representation, Robert A. Campbell

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Building The Powerfully Persuasive Criminal Defense, Stephen C. Rench

Mercer Law Review

The persuasive case remains the foundation and sine qua non of trial advocacy. The importance of building the persuasive case first cannot be overestimated, for everything else flows 'from the thoroughly prepared and developed case. It furnishes the essential solid foundation from which the lawyer works in evaluating, negotiating, and when necessary, preparing the individual phases of the trial; The purpose of this Article is to describe the persuasive case and then to set forth a system and process for the building of that persuasive criminal defense case.

Opening Statements, Robert B. Hirschhorn

Mercer Law Review

As we begin the last decade of the twentieth century, we are experiencing a revolution in the courtroom. The techniques of the old guard must give way to new and innovative means of motivating our captive audience called the jury. I will not engage in a legal treatise of the opening statement. Few cases have ever been reversed on error committed during the opening statement. Instead, I intend to address the humanistic factors that make the difference between a losing and a winning opening statement. Some cases have been lost because of an ineffective opening, but a disproportionate number of …

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 …

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 Art Of Impeachment, J. Vincent Aprile Ii

Mercer Law Review

Impeachment is more than a cross-examination technique; impeachment is often a criminal defense lawyer's only weapon against the prosecution's case-in-chief. Impeachment is not a trial tactic or strategy that often can be extemporaneously employed to undermine a prosecution witness's believability. When impeachment, regardless of the mode or technique, is a significant part of the defense strategy, defense counsel must begin to build the context of the impeachment, at the latest, during voir dire and, at the earliest, no later than pretrial motion practice.

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.

And God Created Woman. . . . But To Be A Criminal Defense Attorney?, Ellen S. Podgor, Leonard D. Pertnoy

Mercer Law Review

The focus of this Article is to discuss how different stereotypes affect the court presentation by a male and female defense attorney. The authors believe actual differences predicated upon a feminist methodology or approach are gender neutral. An awareness by an individual of what has been termed "feminist" controls actual methodology. For a more comprehensive discussion of feminist legal method or methodology, see generally Bartlett, Feminist Legal Methods, 103 Harv. L. Rev. 829 (1990); C. MacKinnon, Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law (1987).

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.

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.

Every Mother's Son: Humanizing The Defendant, Lisbeth Potts

Mercer Law Review

When the jury panel walks into the courtroom, the first thing they do with "bull's eye" accuracy is zero in on your client. "He must be guilty. Why else would I have to be here? If he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't be here." Those are the thoughts flashing through most of their minds., This is typically the situation, whether the defendant has been charged with a minor offense or a heinous crime.

A Crisis Of Legality In The Criminal Law? Reflections On The Rule Of Law, Francis A. Allen

Mercer Law Review

The Carl Vinson Lecture

The notion of the Rule of Law dates from the beginnings of political thought in the western world. In many ways it has had a curious career, for the concept has inspired hyperbole and bombast while, at the same time, generating some of our most sensitive meditations on the nature of law and the relation of individual rights to the exercise of political power and authority.

Handling Client Perjury After Nix V. Whiteside: A Criminal Defense Lawyer's View, John Wesley Hall Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The law of client perjury remains a paradox,. notwithstanding the United States Supreme Court's vaunted, yet seemingly failed, effort to resolve some of the issues by dicta in Nix v. Whiteside. Where we have come from is still confusing, and even five years after Whiteside, where we are going remains a mystery.

Closing Argument: Tapping The Human Experience, Drew Findling

Mercer Law Review

To every criminal defense attorney there comes the inevitable daydream. That time when you imagine yourself in front of the jury passionately proclaiming your client's innocence. It is a fantasy dominated by your emotion and shared with an imaginary jury. You can sense the jury move with every word you utter. You expect the jury to applaud you at any moment. Finally, at the end of this reverie, you receive the ultimate ovation, a verdict of not guilty. It is your responsibility to convert that daydream into reality. Your closing argument should be that segment of the trial in which …

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 …

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.

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.

The Impact Of Alternative Negligence Defense Rules On Litigation Behavior And Tort Claim Disposition, Marianne M. Jennings

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Comparative Negligence In Suits Against Accountants: A Statutory And Policy Analysis, Dennis V. Dahle

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

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.

Trial By Jury

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Litigation, E. D'Angelo

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.