October 2008 (Volume 4, Issue 10)

In this Issue:

· Court of Appeals of Georgia Candidate Forums

· State Bar of Georgia Judicial Poll Results Announced

· Legal Services for Military Veterans & Service Members Committee Survey

· Join the YLD Signature Fundraiser Host Committee

· Raising Awareness of Lawyers and Judges Serving the Public

· General Assembly Creates Evidence Code Study Committee

· Free Casemaker Research Offered Through the State Bar

· Bar News and Events

Court of Appeals of Georgia Candidate Forums
The State Bar of Georgia will host a Court of Appeals Candidate Forum on Monday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Bar Conference Center. The event is co-sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Multi-Bar Leadership Council, made up of the Atlanta Bar Association, DeKalb Bar Association, DeKalb Lawyers’ Association, Gate City Bar Association, Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Georgia Alliance of African-American Attorneys, Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, Indus Bar of Georgia, Sandy Springs Bar Association, State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program and the Stonewall Bar Association.

The Student Bar Association and the Avarita L. Hanson Chapter of the Black Law Students Association of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School invite you to observe a moderated debate with the seven candidates who are contending to fill the vacant seat on the Court of Appeals of Georgia. The event will be held Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. After the debate, a reception will be held for the candidates, sponsoring organizations, administration and other distinguished guests. Please RSVP to blsajohnmarshall@yahoo.com.

State Bar of Georgia Judicial Poll Results Announced
The State Bar of Georgia released the results of a judicial poll of its 27,179 active, in-state members regarding candidates in the contested race for the Court of Appeals of Georgia. This poll is commissioned by the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors, administered by its Elections Committee and is conducted by Election Services Corporation.

According to State Bar President Jeffrey O. Bramlett of Atlanta, "The State Bar does not endorse candidates for judicial office, but has conducted a survey of its membership in statewide races since 1970 to provide voters with guidance on the contested appellate races. The Bar conducts these polls on an impartial basis as a public service to aid Georgia voters in making informed decisions."

A total of 3,143 Georgia lawyers deemed themselves adequately informed about one or more candidates to express an opinion in the survey. Not all ballots contained an opinion on every candidate.

The results are outlined below. In order to avoid any potential misinterpretation of the poll results, publication of the poll must be substantially the same as it appears here.

Judge, Court of Appeals of Georgia (To Succeed John H. Ruffin)

	Well Qualified	Qualified	Not Qualified	Lack of Sufficient Knowledge to Express Opinion
Tamela Lynn Adkins	135	169	396	2,127
Sara Lynn Doyle	382	342	149	1,980
Bruce M. Edenfield	1,000	565	59	1,298
Christopher J. McFadden	842	535	107	1,408
Perry James McGuire	121	221	446	2,017
Michael S. Meyer von Bremen	755	418	115	1,569
Michael M. Sheffield	282	440	295	1,819

Legal Services for Military Veterans & Service Members Committee Survey
The Legal Services for Military Veterans & Servicemembers Committee has developed a survey for Georgia lawyers in an effort to gauge the nature and scope of services our Bar members are prepared to provide for members, reservists and veterans. Your input will help the committee, the State Bar and ICLE accurately identify and shape continuing legal education programs Georgia lawyers can use to help them in the representation of veterans and servicemembers. Please complete the survey no later than Oct. 31. The committee appreciates your willingness to participate in helping determine the best ways to assist with the unmet legal services needs of Georgia's military personnel.

Join the YLD Signature Fundraiser Host Committee
The 2009 YLD Signature Fundraiser, Casino Royale, will be held Friday, Jan. 9, from 8 p.m. to midnight in conjunction with the State Bar Midyear Meeting in Atlanta. A diverse group of more than 200 of Georgia’s most prominent attorneys and guests will join together with one common goal: to raise funds for this year’s benefiting charity, Kids Against Hunger.

Please consider joining the YLD Host Committee for this event. More information and a registration form can be found on the website.

Raising Awareness of Lawyers and Judges Serving the Public
The Bar's ongoing Cornerstones of Freedom program is a multi-dimensional communications effort designed to inform and educate the public about the judicial branch of government and the role of the legal profession. One dimension of Cornerstones is the submission of op-eds and letters to the editors of local papers across the state recognizing the contributions lawyers and judges make in their communities. From June 4 through Aug. 29, these local press items acknowledging the good works of judges and lawyers reached a circulation of almost 1.3 million readers. Download the list of published articles for a detailed breakdown of when and where those articles appeared.

We have a rich supply of good works by Georgia’s lawyers and judges, but our local news outreach effort is only as good as the intelligence we gather from lawyers and judges around the state who inform us when a Bar member receives an award, is elected or appointed to a position of leadership in their community, or a bar association has earned recognition for good works in a community.

Please help your Bar build this effort by informing us whenever you, a lawyer or judge in your community, or your local bar association has earned recognition for service to the public or your local community. E-mails may be directed to president@gabar.org, cliffb@gabar.org or jenniferm@gabar.org. With your input, we can help the public understand the important and positive contributions our judges and lawyers make in their local communities on a daily basis.

General Assembly Creates Evidence Code Study Committee
In response to the State Bar’s proposal regarding the modernization of the Georgia Evidence Code, the General Assembly created the Evidence Code Study Committee, a legislative committee co-chaired by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), and Senate Judiciary Chairman Preston Smith (R-Rome). The committee consists of several representatives and senators, and includes advisory members from the State Bar Evidence Committee, bench, business community and lawyers from the criminal defense, prosecutorial, plaintiff, insurance defense bar, etc.

Professor Paul Milich is the Committee’s Reporter, and is joined on the committee by Ray Persons and Tom Byrne, who co-chaired the State Bar Committee. In these weekly meetings, they present the State Bar position on each of the recommended evidence code provisions, and the Evidence Code Study Committee has been reviewing these on a chapter by chapter basis.

The result will be a new Title 24, which will be much more consistent with the federal rules of evidence. Most of the recommendations are not considered controversial, and the general approach of the committee has been to not make policy changes to long standing policy or recently enacted legislation. Therefore, some provisions, such as those amending the rape shield statute and the admissibility of an apology in a medical suit have not been approved.

The Evidence Code Committee is scheduled to continue these weekly meeting throughout the fall. At the beginning of the legislative session, the work of this committee is expected to be introduced as a bill, and the formal legislative process will begin. In the meantime, the members of the State Bar Evidence Committee will continue their good work as they representing the State Bar on this important committee.

Free Casemaker Research Offered Through the State Bar
Learn how to effectively navigate the Georgia Casemaker library. Training classes will be offered at the Bar Center on Thursday, Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. The sessions are limited to the first 10 attendees. Download the registration form and e-mail to Kim Henry at kimh@gabar.org by noon on the day before the class is scheduled. If you have additional questions about Casemaker, please e-mail Kimberly White at kimberlyw@gabar.org or call 404-526-8618.

Bar News and Events
Please visit the Bar News and Events section at www.gabar.org for information about upcoming events, projects and news items that may be of interest or assistance to you and your practice.

Please do not respond to this e-mail address. Send questions or comments to sarahc@gabar.org.

Click here to "opt out" of receiving future State Bar of Georgia Enewsletters.