Appeals

Appeals require an attorney to thoroughly review the record of the trial proceedings, conduct accurate legal research, and perform persuasive brief writing. David’s work has resulted in important appellate decisions. As a law clerk for the late Dothan attorney Samuel L. Adams, David wrote the petitioner’s brief in Ex Parte Burnham Co., Inc., 649 So. 2d 1270 (1994). In Burnham, the Supreme Court of Alabama made it clear that if a plaintiff dies while a personal injury case is pending, the personal representative must amend the pending personal injury action to include any claim for wrongful death instead of filing an independent wrongful death suit in a different forum. In Ex parte Cooper, 43 So. 3d 547 (Ala. 2009), David persuaded the Supreme Court of Alabama to overrule existing caselaw and hold that a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the initial hearing. The Court noted that its decision “has changed the legal landscape” in Alabama. David has represented clients in a number of other important appeals as well.