Nancee Tomlinson, LLC

Independence Day. Let's plan for the future.

Independence Day Reviving the Public Conversation

https://www.betteradvocacygroup.com/better-questions

Better Questions — Better Advocacy Group Improve Your Trial Advocacy by Challenging the Forensic Interview Order Now Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point. Sign up Take a minute to write an introduction that is short, sweet, and to the point. Sign up Take a minute to write an introduction that is sho...

Looking for creativity in a case with very little to argue? Maybe this will inspire:

Last Ditch: Creative Closing Arguments for Challenging Cases Last Ditch: Creative Closing Arguments for Challenging Cases

https://nancee-tomlinson-s-school.teachable.com/p/why-juvenile-court-is-different-delinquency-advocacy-process-and-procedure/?preview=logged_out

Learn juvenile process and procedure. Get 1 hour trial CLE credit. Through March 31, 2024 use coupon code BETATEST for a steep discount.

Why Juvenile Court is Different: Delinquency Advocacy Process and Procedure Nancee Tomlinson offers insight from more than two decades of experience litigating criminal, juvenile, and probate cases in Georgia. Courses are sponsored by Nancee Tomlinson, LLC.

Part of my work has been watching foster parents struggle with the system. Here are some thoughts on that.

Foster Parenting: Ease the Confusion | Nancee Tomlinson, LLC The Juvenile Court system is difficult to navigate. When caring for children in foster care, the process seems incomprehensible. After years of hearing foster parents’ concerns about the uncertainties of the system, I created this guide for the Georgia Juvenile Courts. Caregiver’s Compass is soc...

https://www.tomlinson-lawfirm.com/blog/2024/02/using-creativity-in-trial/

Using Creativity in Trial | Nancee Tomlinson, LLC A group of criminal attorneys discussed whether to use PowerPoint Presentations during opening statements and/or closing arguments. Opening and closing are so idiosyncratic. Each person needs to discern what needs to be communicated to a jury. PowerPoint feels like putting up a billboard and using w...

Time to face the unpleasant and offer something I had been excited about...

Facing a Horrible Book Review About a year or so ago, I invested in creating an audio book, which lead to a bunch of other iterations of this book. After all that investment, a really scathing review popped up on the book page.…

https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2024/02/04/ga-sb63-unfunded-mandate/

Requiring a cash bond for low-level offenses is a great sound bite. What does it mean in your community? How does this impact your pocketbook? Check out my blog.

GA SB63 Unfunded Mandate At the prodding of a group I belong to, I looked at SB63. I’ve written the following to my state representative. No, I did not follow anyone’s talking points. Yes, keeping people in jai…

https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2024/01/27/get-a-dictionary/

Get a dictionary Since forensic interviews don’t fall into the criminal procedure education, many defense attorneys avoid examining the interviewer. Key details begin to show up, though, we these individuals …

For those you checking in, thank you for looking at my page.

Pondering whether choosing to forgo prosecution creates more jeopardy in other jurisdictions?

Environmental Considerations: Progressive Prosecution When announcing a policy, for instance – declining to prosecute certain crimes – does that decision cause unintended consequences? One day I sat in U.S. District Court, federal court, w…

Saturday morning thoughts with coffee. Criminal justice and mental health are a complicated mixture.

Myth of Progressive Options in Prosecution When a client has a mental health issue that precipitates a criminal case, the concept of mental health court enters the discussion with the client and family. The structure of mental health court …

https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2023/05/09/uphill-battle-second-chances-reality/

Why aren't we using the second chances built into the system? What role do prosecutors and judges play in the accessibility of these chances?

Uphill Battle, Second Chances, & Reality Second chances in the criminal legal system exist for many people. The law specifically prohibits the use of these second-chance options for serious crimes. In some jurisdictions, it is an uphill b…

Thinking through what justice looks like.

Exploring Progressive Prosecution: Conviction Does Not Equate to Justice The idealistic part of me led me out of prosecution. The idea that the prosecutor should “get something out of the case” was and is inconsistent with my idea of justice and the Constitu…

Seth Godin offers wisdom in changing times. Watch the first clip even if you don't want the book.

The Song of Significance The system comes for each of us The Song of Significance (click to pre-order) And you can get a 5-pack, along with 25 free pamphlets (a $50 value) at this link. While supplies last. I appreciate yo…

Sometimes I serve as the guardian ad litem to find missing or unknown heirs. This case took about four years. Located the minor heir - because one parent died, the grandparent died (subject of the case), the other parent had rights terminated, and the child was adopted by some lovely people.

Honored to have advocated for this child's inheritance and got a good result for the child today.

Reports from the Experience: Progressive Prosecution, Equity, Court Battles

Battle Ground: Progressive Prosecution A college town in Georgia is emerging as the battleground over progressive prosecution. The contours of the fight, though, do not emerge along the lines one might expect. We find ourselves awaiting…

Negotiation and settlement are hard choices.

How to Settle a Case John Poulos, CEO of Dominion, wrote an insightful piece in The NY Times about the settlement of the lawsuit against Fox News. He and his business partner made hard, but realistic, choices about ter…

"DFCS won't call me back! I call and call. Never get a return call."
I can't tell you how many times I've had this conversation. My solution, keep track. Buy a notebook and write down the date and time of every message, every call, and every text message. Phones get lost, but keeping track of these efforts will help show that you're working to comply with the case plan.
https://www.amazon.com/Success-Dependency-Court-Nancee-Tomlinson-ebook/dp/B0BYMDBK1P/ref=sr_1_2?crid=VEO8BJ6DQRBP&keywords=success+in+dependency+court&qid=1681332742&sprefix=success+in+dependency+cour%2Caps%2C177&sr=8-2

Instead of forcing children back home, encourage the legislature to provide protection to vulnerable children. All children are valuable and need protection.https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2023/03/21/support-adolescent-children-oppose-sb-133/

Parents can use their secret weapon to regain custody of their child.

Secret Weapon: Persistence Every parent struggling with DFCS and CPS has a secret weapon – their own persistence. Keeping a journal, a record of what you’ve done to work that case plan, that’s a superpower.…

A detour from child advocacy to something that hits closer to home this week.

Life, Death, and the Practice of Law Saturday morning, I scrolled through FB to discover my cousin reported the death of his sister (yes, also my cousin.) After checking with a reliable source, Mama, I was told the report was that T d…

When a parent reaches wit's end, where should they turn? How does the system expect a parent to cope with no guidance?

Exhaustion of Community Resources

Here's a response to DFCS Director Broce's complaint about too many juveniles coming into care. It is long. The problem is complex. If you are concerned or interested, read it all.

Default System for Children Candace Broce, Director of the Division of Family and Human Resources (DFCS), identifies a critical problem as lack of resources for children in need of proper parental care and control. Broce als…

Here's a great reminder!

Opinion | Alec Baldwin Didn’t Have to Talk to the Police. Neither Do You. Even innocent people can inadvertently make themselves seem guilty.

Best Interests Considerations in Juvenile Court

Child’s Physical Safety Georgia’s legislature listed first on their lengthy list of considerations regarding best interests of a child as (1) The physical safety and welfare of such child, including food, shelter, h…

Many lawyers, unfamiliar with the philosophy of juvenile court, face an uphill battle when dabbling. Here's the first in a series on juvenile court.
https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/zen-of-juvenile-court/

Zen of Juvenile Court If you practice law, perhaps you’ve considered appearing in Juvenile Court. After all, it’s just j.v. court? The minor leagues compared to divorce court or criminal trial work, right? I…

In Georgia, the legislature decided to write out the mandate for juvenile courts. The language offers room for persuasion. Here's the next post in the series. https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2022/11/26/paramount/

Paramount “This chapter shall be liberally construed to reflect that the paramount child welfare policy of this state is to determine and ensure the best interests of its children.” O.C.G.A. 15-1…

https://justicebusiness.wordpress.com/2022/10/09/success-in-dependency-court-reimagined/

Success in Dependency Court Reimagined After working with dependency clients for almost a decade, this book contains the how-to for dealing with CPS. The rules that CPS plays by aren’t always the rules with which parents were rais…

https://tomlinson-lawfirm.com/posts/mediation-root-of-conflict
Looking at the root of conflict and potential resolution.

Mediation: Root of Conflict — Nancee Tomlinson Experienced Advocate When people find themselves in a conflict around an idea or a situation, lines are drawn, sides taken. Each party digs into the various positions believing the other is wrong, nursing an injury that hurts beyond measure. Yet, if an honest conversation is started, parties can find that the root of t