APPEALS TO THE SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA AND TO THE GEORGIA COURT OF APPEALS
What happens when the trial judge gets it wrong? It is very frustrating, and disillusioning actually, as we believe the trial judges know the law, and will apply the law properly. And for the most part, they do. However, when they don’t, what happens? You appeal.
In the past 3 months , we have won appeals that have overturned the decisions of three different trial judges on appeal, and we expected to win a 4th shortly. In some of these cases, the law is rather plain and clear to me, and yet the judge decided otherwise. So we appeal these cases to fix things.
It can be disillusioning to have to deal with an appeal. You feel like you did something wrong, or you lost. But that is not always the case. As an example, one appeal that we just won involved a case where the trial court personally sanctioned me for making a legal argument that the court thought was “frivolous” and the opposing attorney, to this day, still does not understand it. Yet to me it was simple and straight forward, and I knew I was right.
Sure enough, on appeal, not only did the Georgia Supreme Court overturn the sanctions against me, the court also said I was right on the law. My client won the case.
Long and short of it, sometimes the trial courts do not get it right, and when they do not, we still have a remedy and we can still win the case.
At Shaw Law Firm, we have a track record of successfully handling appeals, and we welcome your inquiries regarding them.
Keep in mind, that to appeal a decision there are tight deadlines and procedures that need to be met. Usually you have to file your notice of appeal no later than 30 days from the date of the entry of the order that you want to appeal, and in many cases, including all divorce cases, you first need to file what is called an Application for Discretionary Review, and have that filed within 30 days. So please, do not wait to the 29th day to decide to appeal. It takes work to preserve your right to appeal, and the deadlines are hard and fixed.
If you have an issue in the State of Georgia that needs to be appealed, please, immediately contact us, so we can discuss preserving your rights to appeal and have the time to file our appeal if you decide, after counsel, to file the appeal.
Contact us or call today to learn how Shaw Law can work with you to achieve the best outcome possible for you and your children.
Scott Shaw is founder and principle of Shaw Law Firm LLC, founded in 1995 and dedicated solely to divorce, family law and child custody matters that must be addressed and decided in the state of Georgia. Shaw Law Firm serves the greater Metro Atlanta area, particularly the counties of Fulton, Gwinnett, Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding, Henry, Fayette, Coweta, Newton, Walton, Bartow and Douglas. Schedule a consultation today at 770-594-8309.