Tag: discovery

Support The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce with Catherine Rajcan!

Catherine Rajcan made a nine-part series of posts through LinkedIn and other social media, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce, that I’d like to memorialize and share with everyone.

This is 1/9. This introduced the series and revealed that some legal service companies attempt to trick lawyers into believing digital court reporting is comparable to stenography.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 1/9

This is 2/9. This listed a series of distinctions stenographers have from digital court reporting, including the ability to instantaneously read back questions and testimony.

This is 3/9. This post explored failings of digital recording and times when stenographers must clarify to protect the record. The obvious implication is that this same level of quality is not guaranteed by digital.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 3/9

This is 4/9. This post explained the problems with chain of custody and linked my audio editing video. It makes it clear that by relying on audio, problems arise in the security of the record.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 4/9 (Christopher Day’s “editing audio easy” short video.)

This is 5/9. This dove into Illinois law and described how, though notaries are allowed to swear witnesses by law, it is not a replacement for certified shorthand reporters.

The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 5/9 (NCRA Strong shield)

This is 6/9. This post gave an explanation of shorthand reporting under Illinois law and the penalties for holding oneself out as a certified shorthand reporter when they are not one.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 6/9

This is 7/9. This revealed Illinois Supreme Court rules on audio-visual recording and the use sound-recording devices for proceedings such as depositions.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 7/9

This is 8/9. This post mentions the lack of regulation regarding digital court reporting and notes that using digital court reporting carries significant risk.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 8/9

This is 9/9. This post went into the NCRA’s efforts to warn attorneys about digital expansion.

Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan, titled The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce 9/9
Activism and information dispersal by Catherine Rajcan related to The Fruits of Discovery and Evidence Depositions Are the Testimony They Produce, a 9-part series of posts.

Looking over all of this brings a lot of inspiration. Just look at the incredible effort put into keeping attorneys informed. If you’ve ever wondered how you can help, here’s a chance. Head over to these posts, like and share or show them off to an attorney in casual conversation. Start spreading the message so that attorneys equate stenographers with service and good standards. It’s arguments like this that will advance us, but we need participation from our colleagues. You can make a difference today!

John Belcher on Winning Depositions

Spreading through social media is a clip from John Belcher. He talks about how he got his dream job as a prosecutor, which allowed him to be in court almost every day and work with court reporters and other court staff. He talks about all the things that court reporters hope attorneys talk about. Some key takeaways?

  1. Don’t do something you wouldn’t do in front of the judge. They read the transcripts.
  2. Don’t step on the witness. Count to four before starting the next question or answer.
  3. Speak a little slower. He suggests 70% speed.
  4. Don’t disrespect opposing counsel, the witness, the court reporter, or other attendees.
  5. Be careful about side discussions that take away or distract from the proceeding.
  6. Adding fillers at the beginning of questions like “okay” or “perfect” may create bad habits for trial questioning.
  7. Preparation is key. Expecting the court reporter to put up your exhibits for you may burn valuable time.

Don’t take it from me, check out his video on LinkedIn today! You can also see his YouTube here.