Litigation Commons^™

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.

Trial Practice And Procedure, David A. Forehand Jr., Ken M. Nimmons

Mercer Law Review

Because the trial of a lawsuit is often, by its very nature, as dramatic as a Shakespearean production, the trial lawyer must assume the roles of writer, actor, and director. He must indulge himself in the effusions of forensic eloquence, "reason with the accuracy and power of the trained logician, and enforce his cause with all the inspirations of genius," and ultimately persuade a jury to his cause. In attempting to set the stage for a successful conclusion to the drama of trial, the trial lawyer must adhere to the rules of trial practice and procedure. While the authors of …

Georgia's Witness Immunity Statute: Explication And Recommendations For Judicial Development, Roald Mykkeltvedt

Mercer Law Review

In 1975 the Georgia General Assembly enacted a comprehensive witness immunity statute' providing for a procedure to obtain the testimony of persons who refuse to testify on self-incrimination grounds. That procedure is summarized in the following excerpt from the act:

Whenever in the judgment of the Attorney General or any district attorney, the testimony of any person or the production of evidence of any kind by any person in any criminal proceeding before a court or grand jury is necessary to the public interest, then the Attorney General or the district attorney may request the superior court, in writing, to …

Trial Practice And Procedure, T. Bart Gary

Mercer Law Review

This survey represents only some of the several hundred cases decided by the appellate courts in the area of trial practice and procedure. Those selected for comment were deemed significant because they either resolve new questions or illustrate the application of important principles of procedure. This follows the format established in the past for this survey. Personal jurisdiction, venue, and attachment and garnishment are discussed first, followed by cases arranged in numerical order under each section of the Civil Practice Act.

Practice And Procedure, R. Neal Batson, Ben F. Johnson Iii

Mercer Law Review

This article opened last year with a discussion of McGovern v. American Airlines, Inc. and the principle that it is the plaintiff's burden to allege and invoke federal jurisdiction. McGovern was undercut somewhat by the 1976 case of Skidmore v. Syntex Laboratories, Inc. Indeed, one dissenting judge argued that the Fifth Circuit was permitting jurisdiction even though the plaintiff had failed to make even a prima facie showing of essential jurisdictional facts. The plaintiff, a Texas citizen, brought a products-liability diversity action against one Delaware corporation and one Panamanian corporation. The plaintiff, even after substantial discovery, was unable to demonstrate …

Expert Witnesses And The Federal Rules Of Evidence, James W. Mcelhaney

Mercer Law Review

Brainerd Currie was already a legend when he came to Duke from the University of Chicago. I was a third-year law student then and took his course in Conflicts in the spring of 1962—a dazzling intellectual display centered around the hard practicalities of complex litigation. But Currie was more than just a great teacher and scholar. Too busy to take a vacation ("How can you talk about taking a trip to Europe, McElhaney? I'm too busy to go to Europe, and you're going to be practicing. "), he had time to talk with us after class; to drink a cup …

A Party Need Not Show Prejudice Or Surprise To Impeach Its Own Witness, Robert R. Gunn Ii

Mercer Law Review

In Wilson v. State, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously held that a party may impeach the credibility of its own witness with that witness' prior inconsistent statement without showing that the testimony is a total surprise or affirmatively damaging to the party's case.

Bill Ray Wilson was convicted of murder and armed robbery on the basis of testimony from three prosecution witnesses. His case consisted solely of his sworn denial. The testimony of one prosecution witness was inconsistent with a previous written, sworn statement in which the witness had said Wilson had confessed to the murder in his …

Appellate Practice And Procedure, Tommy Day Wilcox

Mercer Law Review

There were a number of significant cases decided by the appellate courts of Georgia during the past survey year in the area of appellate practice and procedure. The Georgia Supreme Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals handed down more than sixty opinions that turned in part on a consideration of the Appellate Practice Act of 1965, the rules of the appellate benches, and the case law which has evolved under these standards. The most noteworthy of these cases will be highlighted here under four general headings: Enumeration of Errors; Payment of Costs and Transcripts; Final Judgments; and Miscellany.

Unlike …

Trial Practice And Procedure, J. Ralph Beaird, C. Ronald Ellington

Mercer Law Review

Each year the Georgia appellate courts decide several hundred cases that raise issues of trial practice and procedure. The period surveyed in this article covers the tenth year of cases interpreting the Long-Arm Statute and the ninth year of cases decided under the Civil Practice Act. The gradual judicial development of these important laws has been fascinating to watch and comment on. A steady improvement in both the quality and predictability of these decisions can be observed and should be applauded.

The cases selected for comment herein are those deemed the most significant because they either indicate a new direction …

Practice And Procedure, R. Neal Batson, Ben F. Johnson Iii

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Glance At Summary Judgment, Thomas J. Browning

Mercer Law Review

EDITOR'S NOTE: A motion for summary judgment is one of the most frequently used pre-trial motions. The following article was written as a quick-reference index for the Judges of the Cobb Superior Court in ruling on these motions. In keeping with our policy of presenting articles to aid the practicing attorney, as well as the academician, we are including the article in this year's Survey. This is the authority practicing attorneys will no doubt face from the Georgia judiciary on a motion for summary judgment.

I. PURPOSE

Purpose of Summary Judgment: A primary purpose of the summary judgment procedure is …

Pattern Jury Instructions, Luther C. Hames Jr.

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trial Practice And Procedure, J. Ralph Beaird, C. Ronald Ellington

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Damages, Edgar Hunter Wilson

Mercer Law Review

The damage problems presented to the appellate courts of Georgia during the sufvey period have been few. The cases, however, are well-dispersed over the field of damages.

Practice And Procedure, Wiley H. Davis

Mercer Law Review

It has long been recognized that a large percentage of the cases decided by the appellate courts of Georgia are decided in whole or in part upon procedural points. Because of this fact, any attempt to survey the matters decided on such points during any twelve-month period must include reference to many cases, however brief the treatment. In making such a survey, one frequently faces the problem of deciding whether a holding is based primarily upon procedure or whether the case should be considered substantive in nature. Of course, some procedure is involved in the hearing, trial or appeal of …