courtroom

Published on: June 10, 2019

Alabama Supreme Court Reverses Course On Car Accident Venue Question

In a December 2018 post, I asked the question — Is the Alabama Supreme Court Biased Against Car Accident Victims on Venue Issues? At our office, we file and prepare many car accident and injury cases for trial. Where can a case properly be filed? Where is venue proper? Sometimes, venue is proper in more than one county. Sometimes, you have a choice. When you do, venue can be a huge issue. When we have a choice, we consider carefully which county may be better for the case.

How is our Supreme Court wading into the venue issue? In recent years, our Supreme Court issued several decisions using a principle called “forum non conveniens” to transfer cases. Forum non conveniens allows courts to transfer a case from the proper venue where filed to another proper venue for “the interest of justice” or the “convenience of parties and witnesses.” Should the court make subjective decisions on “convenience” to overrule a plaintiff’s chosen venue? Historically, the bar has been high. Historically, courts would defer to the chosen venue unless it had little or no connection at all to the case. I think courts should defer to the plaintiff’s proper choice of venue.

In its recent decisions, the Supreme Court forgot the deference which should be extended to the plaintiff’s choice of venue. Our Supreme Court repeatedly used the principal of forum non conveniens to transfer personal injury cases. In my 2018 post, I criticized the willingness of our Supreme Court to impose its subjective choice of venue on a plaintiff.

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Published on: December 18, 2017

Is It Amateur Hour For Federal Judicial Nominees?

By Jeff Blackwell

What do we need in trial judges? Honesty. Integrity. Fairness. Respect for both the law and the citizens standing before them. Legal Scholarship. Those are all necessary to make a good trial judge. What else is important? Courtroom experience. At least, a basic level of courtroom experience is necessary. At least, tell us you have been in a courtroom!

I handle personal injury and damage cases across northern Alabama. We are fortunate in our local state courts. We currently have a good bench of state judges who came to their positions with an understanding of the process. Most of them came to the bench after serving as lawyers before their local courts.

I can say the same for the men and women I’ve appeared before in Federal Court. They have been well-qualified. And, they take their roles as judges very seriously. As citizens, we count on them to be fair and skilled in their work. They understand their position and work hard to fulfill it. That is true whether these judges were appointed by a past Republican President or past Democrat President. Like our state court judges, most of them came to the bench after working as lawyers in their respective Federal Districts.

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Published on: November 4, 2013

Dealing With The Difficult Judge In Trial

By Jeff Blackwell

In a recent interview, Federal District Court Judge James Holderman provides a good perspective on dealing with difficult judges in trial. Judge Holderman’s experience includes many years of trial work as a private attorney prior to his appointment as a Federal Judge.

Let me start by saying the truly difficult judge has been a rare experience in my practice. Most judges at the jury trial and appellate levels where I practice are dedicated to reaching a fair and just decision. However, as Judge Holderman notes:

Judges are people and subject to the same prejudices, pressures, human problems, flaws, and frailties, which we all have.

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