Judge Richard Gergel is a federal judge for the United States District Court of South Carolina.  Judge Gergel is from Columbia, South Carolina and received both his undergraduate degree and law degree from Duke University.  After nearly three decades in private practice, Judge Gergel was nominated by President Barack Obama to sit on the federal bench for the District of South Carolina.  Not only is Judge Gergel an experienced trial attorney and federal judge, but he is the author of the best-selling book "Unexampled Courage."  In this episode, Joe and Daniel talk with Judge Gergel about legal writing, mental health for lawyers, and much more.

Joe and Daniel are honored to have Justice John Cannon Few join them for this week's episode.  Justice Few has been a member of the South Carolina Supreme Court since his election in 2016. Before taking the bench, Justice Few was a trial lawyer for nearly a decade practicing in state and federal court. He was first elected as a Circuit Court judge in 2000, and then elected as the Chief Judge for the S.C. Court of Appeals in 2010. Justice Few has written and taught extensively on the law, but one of his main areas of expertise is the Rules of Evidence. Justice Few teaches Advanced Evidence at USC and holds an annual CLE on Trial Evidence.

We talk with Justice Few about trial strategy, legal briefs, and the importance of preparation and experience.

Cannon Few and his music can be found on Spotify, Twitter, and Instagram.  For an in-depth look at Cannon, check out this article.

We are joined by a special guest on this episode: Deputy Solicitor Dan Goldberg of the Fifth Judicial Circuit.  In Part I of Jury Trials, we talk about prepping for a trial, the morning of the jury trial, jury selection, and opening statements.  Hear from Dan Goldberg as he gives insight and advice in how to prepare for and execute a criminal trial.

How do expert evidence rules apply in trials?  Listen as Daniel and Joe discuss the Rules of Evidence and case law on expert testimony and the complicated process of introducing this evidence.  This is just the first episode of more to come on expert evidence.

Click here for a copy of Daniel's recent article on Expert Evidence published in the SC Lawyer: https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=18928&i=719486&p=42&ver=html5

Joe and Daniel are joined by guests from the S.C. Bar’s Dispute Resolution Section, where we discuss all things mediation.  Our guests are Judge Jim Brogdon, Kevin Barth, and Yolanda Courie – all extremely experienced mediators and attorneys.  Listen in as they go over best practices for mediation, arbitration, and litigation.

S.C. Bar Dispute Resolution Section website: https://www.scbar.org/lawyers/sections-committees-divisions/sections/dispute-resolution-section/

Be on the lookout for Mediation Week which is October 18-25.

On this episode of Litigation Strategies, Daniel and Joe talk about eminent domain—what happens when the government takes private property for a public purpose—and the massive Malfunction Junction road improvement project currently taking place in the Midlands.

Joe and Daniel were the prosecutors involved with Columbia's Homeless Court.  In this episode, they discuss the creation of the court and the many benefits that it provides.  They also discuss other diversionary programs that are out there.

Project Help Link: https://richbar.org/community-service/project-help/

SC Lawyer Article on Homeless Court: https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=18928&i=587519&p=52&ver=html5 

Preliminary hearings can move quick and require attorneys to know a lot of information about many different areas of criminal law.  But there is more to prelims than just knowing the law.  Daniel and Joe discuss some of the mistakes that they made when they were prosecutors and some of the frustrations they deal with throughout these hearings.  You can find Daniel's book "Pocket Prelims" here.

Your hosts, Daniel Coble and Joseph Berry, discuss handling a wide range of legal cases and the different stages throughout. From preliminary hearings to motion practice to jury voire dire, we give listeners and inside perspective of handling litigation. Daniel Coble is the owner of the Coble Law Group, LLC. Joseph Berry is a litigation attorney with Lewis Babcock LLP.