This article by Judge Richard Posner (7th Circuit Court of Appeals) does a fine job discussing appellate briefs and oral arguments. A sample: "The second biggest mistake that appellate advocates make—after exaggerating how much the judges know about or are willing to devote time to learning about a given appeal—is…
"From 2004 through 2006, patient safety errors resulted in 238,337 potentially preventable deaths of U.S. Medicare patients and cost the Medicare program $8.8 billion, according to the fifth annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study." So begins this article found on the MSN website. The article notes that (a)"of the…
The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that a defendant employer may not avoid a claim for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or entrustment by simply agreeing that it is vicariously liable for the actions of its employee. In James v. Kelly Trucking Company, the Court said that just because a…
Well, it has been a longer break than I planned. The trial started on February 25 and went to the jury shortly before lunch yesterday, March 11. The jury actually started deliberations at about 12:45 and is returning to the courthouse for further deliberations today at 8:00 a.m. Obviously, it …
This blog started three years ago this week. There have been 1175 posts totaling millions of words made to it. In the process I have learned in a great deal and I sincerely hope that this blog has helped you represent your clients. I am taking a break for a…
We live in a log cabin in the woods in Williamson County. This morning we are blessed with a strong rain – weather that we haven’t seen much of in the last year. Other than frequent sightings of deer and turkeys, one of the joys of living here is the…
The Tennessee Court of Appeals (Middle Section) has ruled that "trial court has the discretion to sanction a party by dismissal of its case where the party’s destruction of evidence severely prejudices an adverse party’s defense irrespective of whether the destruction was inadvertent or intentional." The Court quoted with approval…
A federal judge has written a "Top Ten" list taking issue with the United States Supreme Court opinions on the sentencing of criminal defendants. Read it here.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has just released the 2006-07 “Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary.” It has some amazing, indeed alarming, information. There were 584 medical malpractice cases filed in Tennessee last year. To put that in perspective, there were 10,165 general “Damages/Torts” cases filed. Indeed, there were less medical…
I have an early morning meeting and won’t be able to post until closer to Noon. Check back later for another in the Great Lawyer series.