Important Lesson for Appellate Advocates:
When representing a capital defendant on appeal, don't refuse to discuss parts of the brief you didn't write; do have some familiarity with the record; and, what ever you do, don't make light of your case by describing the evidence against your client as "overkill — excuse the pun." Appellate Law & Practice has the scoop on the Sixth Circuit's opinion today in Franklin v. Anderson.

  UPDATE: In the comment thread, former prosecutor Paul Rosensweig points out that the Ohio state courts are at least partially responsible.