Prosecutorial Discretion and Legislative Legitimacy
Human discretion is part and parcel of our system; it is why we elect people to prosecutorial positions who will, presumably, reflect community values.
Litigation Journal | Summer 2023: Legitimacy
Volume 49, Issue 4
Features
Innocence Clinics and the Integrity of the Legal System
Innocence clinics play a key role in growing the integrity of the criminal legal system, particularly through teaching.
How Not to Lie: A Don't-Do-It-Yourself Guide for Litigators
The key to improving lawyer behavior is to create a professional culture and to foster legal practice environments in which the option of lying is not even considered.
Judicial Disqualification and Legitimacy
When it comes to preventing judges from presiding over cases in which their impartiality is in doubt, disqualification is the first line of defense.
Sua Sponte: A Judge Comments
It is important that judges remain open to critical feedback and committed to ensuring that the courtroom is and feels like a place for equal justice for all.
Remote Proceedings: Why Do Lawyers and Judges Hate Evidence?
COVID forced courts to reconsider how to provide the problem-resolving services that millions of Americans depend on every day.
Legitimate Removal: How to Do It and Traps for the Unwary
All too often, the process for removal can present an unexpected minefield, and one that must be negotiated quickly, as a 30-day countdown clock is usually already running…
Regaining Legitimacy in Our Legal System
Our legal system must be accessible and affordable because if it doesn’t work for everyone, the day will come when it works for no one.
Four Rules to Establish That Your Evidence Is Legit
There are many gifts to help you navigate the turbulent trial waters. Where can you find those precious gifts to keep your pulse and blood pressure at reasonable levels?
Columns
Georgia on My Mind
Georgia's Lawyer's Creed is just 186 words. Yet, in such a limited use of words, Georgia has managed to capture everything that we as attorneys are called to be and to do.
Motion Sickness
Those who toil in chambers spend much of their time dealing with motion practice. All kinds of motions. Procedural motions. Discovery motions. Motions to dismiss.
Navigating the Legal Landscape of Generative Artificial Intelligence: The Risks and Opportunities of ChatGPT
For now, ChatGPT works well as a creative collaborator to crystallize one's thinking and generate new ideas, so long as it is not overly relied on.
Putting You In Charge of Your Prose: A Retrospective on My Advice
There are four questions readers must have the right answers to at the end of reading each of your sentences if they are to understand what you meant to say.
Illegitimate Rules of Construction
Courts should see contract drafters for what they are--humans who mistakenly express the same thing in different ways.
How Does One Agree to Agree?
If there is to be a rule of what’s "objectively reasonable" governing contracts, including an agreement to agree, it would help to know what it is.
Picking Winners
Don’t rush. Make certain you have a good chance of success before you file your complaint. Losing isn't fun.
"Finite Pie" Conflicts
The conflict arises when a lawyer represents two or more clients seeking to recover against a single, limited 'pie' or body of recoverable assets.
Headnotes
"Field of Dreams" for Voters in Arizona Merit Retention Elections: Justice O'Connor Helped to Build It
Maricopa County voters have shown that if you build them a fair and independent system to inform their vote in judicial retention elections, they will come to the polls and use it.
Identifying Trade Secrets
The requirements for identifying a trade secret often depend on the stage of the case, the venue, and sometimes even the court.
The Haunted Judge
The executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg put a spotlight on the 42-year-old trial judge who had imposed the sentences: Irving R. Kaufman.