In drafting appeals, the appellate attorney will request, receive, and review a typed transcript of and exhibits admitted at the hearing of which the Order is being appealed. This allows the appellate attorney, who may or may not have been the trial attorney, to review the record, gather information, and quote the hearing transcript as argument in the appellate briefs.
Transcripts for appeal are often lengthy if the hearing was conducted over the period of a full day or more. This can mean several hundred pages and hours of document review to gather appropriate information and familiarize the attorney with the ... Read More
Tag: information
16
Sep2014
26
Aug2014
In litigation generally and family law specifically, there is copious amounts of information that often must be gathered and sorted through to produce the most comprehensive argument and case for a party. Often, this information comes from third parties or discovery, but many times, the most valuable information comes from the party himself/herself.
Calendars
In family law matters, it often comes down to a he said/she said argument. Having a calendar of parenting time or when the children are in activities can be momentously helpful when it comes to testimony about events that may have happened three (3) years ago. Trying to ... Read More
22
Jul2014
In many divorce and paternity cases it often happens that one parent is provided primary physical custody of the child or children, and the other parent receives parenting time. Physical custody refers to where the child primarily lives. There is another type of custody, legal custody, that could be either joint in both parents or sole in one parent. This means, the parents can share joint legal custody and one parent could have primary physical custody, but it also means that one parent could be provided with both sole legal custody and primary physical custody. Legal custody refers to the ... Read More
17
Jun2014
The decision to divorce from your spouse is often loaded with many emotional, financial, and lifestyle considerations. Everyone who thinks about, or decides to, divorce has different reasons. Divorce can be a very emotional decision and process, the loss of a loved one and relationship can be very devastating, and if there are children, learning how to co-parent and help your children adjust to the changes of their parents no longer being together can be a rough path to navigate. On the other hand, the process of divorce has a business side to it too. Oftentimes during a marriage, couples ... Read More
24
Apr2014
In criminal matters, one of the more common issues is evidence and what comes in and is admissible, and what is kept out and is inadmissible. For example, a previous blog post discussed Miranda Warnings and how they generally apply to questioning. If a confession is obtained without proper Miranda Warnings, it is likely not admissible in Court. Other information would have to be used as evidence to show that a crime was committed.
Similarly, if evidence is obtained illegally or not in the proper matter, that evidence may be excluded from a hearing. For example, if police knock on the ... Read More
27
Mar2014
A deposition is a discovery tool, or a way that attorneys and litigants gather information that is relevant to the case. A deposition is just one of many options that attorneys utilize in gathering pertinent information to effectively prepare your case for settlement or trial. For example, during a divorce case, your spouse raises claims that he or she wants spousal maintenance (alimony), and you want to know why, or what their basis is. A deposition is an opportunity to ask many questions about their assertions regarding their request. On the other hand, depositions are good to see how an ... Read More
20
Mar2014
If you are a party or a witness to a legal matter, you may be called to the stand to testify. Many people are familiar with this generally, from TV shows and movies. Witnesses are generally sworn in, and then each side gets to ask them questions. Whether the Plaintiff of Defendant (criminal cases) or Petitioner or Respondent (Civil Cases) calls the particular witness determines which side gets to question first, meaning whichever side called them witness gets the first go round of questions. After the side that called the witness has completed questioning (Direct Exam), the other side will ... Read More
18
Mar2014
In litigation, one of the most important means of obtaining information from opposing parties and even third parties is called discovery. Discovery can consist of many forms including written discovery, depositions, and third party discovery. Here are three key components of discovery that can help understand the process.
1) Discovery has limitations
Not every piece of information is discoverable. For example, in a personal injury case, a question about why a person got divorced 10 years ago may not likely be relevant, and the other side may not likely be forced to answer.
2) The other side can object
Much like in a trial setting, the ... Read More
25
Feb2014
Once the appeal process has been started and the Court of Appeals takes jurisdiction of a matter from the lower court, new evidence or information from after the order being appealed may not generally be used in the Court of Appeals. But why?
Facts and information underlying a case move in real time. For example, if child support is not paid by a parent on Friday, the other parent may know that same Friday that there is a child support arrears. However, the system cannot move in real time due to the need for filings and notice to each party. Therefore, ... Read More
09
Jan2014
When a case goes to trial, the information gathering has been completed. Discovery may have been served and answered, depositions may have been taken, research has been done, and fact finding has been completed. But, how do you utilize the best information for trial? Here are three tips to help in information gathering and using information at trial.
1) Tell your attorney the full story
A trial surprise can come if a party has not shared full or accurate information with his/her attorney, and this surprise can often be a negative one. In order to prepare the best information, the attorney needs ... Read More