Month: January 2023

No other state has one.  This court has final jurisdiction “in all criminal cases of whatever grade….”  All cases where the client got the death penalty are appealed directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals, but other cases pass through the Courts of Appeals first. ...

This is the King’s X rule.  If the lawyer is too slow standing up, or doesn’t know a Rule, or only objects under one ground and the judge can think of another, this doctrine tells the client:  “We know it isn’t your fault, but your lawyer didn’t use the right magic...

If the most useful rule of evidence is Rule 104, by far my favorite is the beautiful Rule 602.  The first sentence says, “A witness may testify to a matter only if evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the...