Ken Shigley has been named a trustee of the Institute for Continuing Judicial Education in Georgia for 2013-14. The ICJE is a resource consortium of the Georgia Judicial Branch, the State Bar of Georgia, and the ABA accredited law schools of the State (Emory, Georgia State, Mercer, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, and the University…
Continue reading ›Chances are you or a member of your family will be involved in a car wreck someday. When it happens, you need to know what to do in the event of an auto accident. Print this out and keep it in your glove compartment to refer to if you are involved in a motor vehicle…
Continue reading ›Most bright middle school students probably have a working knowledge of the concept of hearsay, simply as gossip. “He said she said” does not mean the statement is true. Hearsay as a legal rather than merely social concept is part of the law of evidence. The Georgia rule on hearsay will change on January 1st,…
Continue reading ›Governor Nathan Deal is forming a Governor’s Commission on Teen Driving, to be comprised of at least 15 members between the ages of 15 and 19. Supervised by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, this commission will prepare reports to the governor outlining ideas for a statewide strategy to educate teen drivers on hazards such…
Continue reading ›Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb, father of Georgia’s first “loser pays” statute” The oldest of the five “loser pays” rules in existing Georgia law has been in effect for nearly 150 years, having first appeared in the Code of 1863. That Code was largely the work product of Thomas R. R. Cobb, son-in-law of…
Continue reading ›Before rushing into legislation to create yet another “loser pays” rule in Georgia law, it is useful to examine the five forms of “loser pays” rules we already have. I wrote earlier about OCGA 9-11-68 (offer of judgment / offer of settlement rule and frivolous claims and defenses rule) and OCGA 9-11-14 (no justiciable issue,…
Continue reading ›Georgia law allows a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit one chance to dismiss without prejudice and refile. The renewal statute, OCGA § 9–2–61, allows a plaintiff who voluntarily dismisses a timely filed suit to file suit within six months, regardless of whether the statute of limitations has run. However, a case decided by the Georgia…
Continue reading ›© MediVisuals Inc., www.MediVisuals.com A herniated cervical disc may result from any motor vehicle accident, including an automobile or car wreck or a truck, tractor trailer, semi or big rig accident. It is one of the injuries we see most often see as personal injury law practice. The spine is a stack of bones called…
Continue reading ›Ken Shigley, President, State Bar of Georgia, 2011-12 “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!” A woman wearing a formal morning…
Continue reading ›At 5 AM Sunday, a Grady Hospital EMT was killed on his way home from work by an allegedly drunk driver who rear-ended his motorcycle on I-20 near Lee Road in Douglas County. The EMT, Jason Dale Strickland of Bremen was driving his Harley Davidson west on I-20 near Lee Road. According to media reports,…
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