The impact of court depositions cannot be understated. In any case, the information obtained during the deposition state can sway the case in either direction. Essentially, the testimonies collected can influence a defendant to accept to settle, thus avoiding a trial. Here are court deposition tips that you can apply to help a case go your way.

Witness Rules

The witness has to be issued with a notice at least ten days before the stage of deposition commences. Alternatively, the notice may be given through the form of a subpoena signed by the lawyer conducting the legal deposition. A judge’s signature is not required. 

The reason a subpoena may be necessary is if the witness does not want to attend court willingly. When the witness fails to show up for the deposition, the action is considered contempt of court. The writ, therefore, orders the witness to attend court for deposition purposes.

The lawyer may also produce copies of documents submitted during the deposition process. However, they must issue a Request for Production of Documents before they can make copies.

A good court deposition can ensure that a case does not go to trial. This is particularly true if the deposition provides clear, indisputable evidence showing both sides how a trial is likely to turn out. Considering this, the defendant is more likely to agree to settle before the case goes to court.

Tips for Deposition

A trial can take months or even years before it concludes. To avoid going through this long and protracted journey, it is always advisable to consider deposition. Here are a few tips that you can use for yourself or advise a friend or client in case you are involved in a court case, or you are being deposed.

• Always take time to think over the questions asked before answering
• Never answer an incomplete question. Let the lawyer finish the question before you provide your answer
• Think before answering to allow your attorney time to raise an objection if any
• When you do not know the answer to a particular question, answer that you don’t know
• Do not add any new information that has not been asked
• Avoid speculating
• Always act formally and professionally
• Stay as calm as possible. Do not allow your emotions to get out of control
• Avoid getting into an argument with opposing lawyers

Enlisting an attorney to help you with court depositions can go a long way to ensure the success of your case. A qualified attorney has the necessary experience to guide you and provide specific instructions that will come in handy for a successful court deposition. Using the aforementioned tips will provide you with your best chance of resolving the case as per your desires.

It is therefore rather surprising that with all the modern IT solutions, stenographs are still used by court reporters to capture court deliberations. They may seem like relics of a bygone era, but stenographic court reporters actually do real-time legal transcriptions better than any available software.

For one, entry-level reporters can easily deduce word pronunciations in different dialects and accents, something computer software can’t do yet. Most importantly, they seamlessly combine their stenographs with computers to provide magistrates, lawyers and other clients with ultra fast and accurate transcripts.

Adapting to New Technology

Traditionally, court reporters would transcribe all the spoken word in a court session, then manually filter the stenography into legible words. However, inpatient clients and modern technology have driven most stenographers to integrate computers into their work.

With the help of a laptop or tablet, court reporters can now program their translation applications, to instantaneously turn their shorthand notes into legible language. Real-time transcribing means that clients and courts can get access to transcripts of ongoing legal discourse, within a few minutes.

Additionally, the integration of computers and computer applications in court stenography means high-level court sessions can be translated and captioned on screens, in and out of the courtroom. Media houses are especially known to hire court reporters when covering public-interest cases as well. You didn’t possibly think that all the subtitles and captions you see on live transmissions of court sessions are entirely the work of ordinary journalists, did you?

In simple terms, court reporting is an ancient practice that, according to most modernists, belongs to legal museums. However, standards and practices within the profession have continued to evolve and there has been a willingness, across the board to embrace new technology.

This adaptation of modern technology into the court reporting process effectively puts to rest the “old-fashioned” assertions. After all, apart from the stenographs, everything about modern court reporters is, well – modern. From the training methods to devices and software used and most importantly, the output (transcripts), there’s nothing really backward or old-fashioned about court reporters.

Survived Budget Cuts

Even with underperforming economies and bloated expenditures forcing most governments to cut costs and digitize, court reporters have never had to fear for their jobs. And that’s not likely to change anytime soon.

From the third world to the most advanced nations on earth, court reporters are almost always preferred to transcribe civil and criminal cases. This is because no matter how accurate computers are said to be, court reporters are way more accurate and reliable.

As proof of their reliability and credibility, court reporters are in very high demand in the disposition and testimony settings. Matter of fact, there are more court reporters employed by law firms and individuals as compared to the courts or governments.

A deposition is something that every person ideally has a good working basic understanding of. Knowing what you’re contending with if you yourself have to deal with a deposition is key to being successful in the end because a good one helps lawyers come out on top and win cases.

A good deposition can definitely go a long way when it comes to helping to win a case. Victory is key and losing often can come with not-so-great case results. So it makes sense to do your research, because whether you’re in the legal field or simply temporarily involved in it, you definitely want to know what you are dealing with. When you know more about a topic, you are able to make choices that are better informed and may benefit you in the end.

Deposition Basics

Attorneys use depositions to help boost their case or attempt to. These tools are gathered together in the ‘conduct discovery phase‘. This allows legal professionals that are involved to do what they have to in order to put together a fact and testimonial based profile.

These are defined to be formal investigations. Witnesses that are called will take an oath and then the questioning will begin. These witnesses need to tell the truth and everything that goes on or is said will be taken down and formally recorded. This includes all formal questions as well as answers, recorded on a transcript.

The transcript will be the official record for the case and can be used as an analysis reference. This makes it useful to both sides involved. Deposition purpose can often include putting together an event narrative that’s focused and coherent. This makes sense since it will be involved in the case strategy most likely to a large degree, making it invaluable to this process overall.

Depositions are important because they are like a trial that happens before the actual trial. This is a practice run– a witness can go over the testimony that they delivered so that they can present it if they need to when they are in court.

The main purpose of depositions is to allow the opposing counsel to get on with their investigation. They’re trying to ready themselves for any testimony from the witness, analyzing events and working the case overall. That means that they’ll be able to capitalize on the things that are inconsistent later. So for witnesses, their story being consistent is important.

Attorneys usually want witnesses that have a consistent story as well. Remind witnesses to speak clearly and slowly as well, mindful of every word. Advise them that they should allow an attorney to ask their question first and make sure they’re done before answering.

Don’t cut off an attorney or be in a rush to speak. Witnesses should be honest. Tell them that if they don’t know an answer, just be honest and say “I don’t know”. Also ask questions to be repeated if not understood. Treat a deposition like a test run and good luck!

A realtime service may seem like a good idea, but is it? Who would know better than a court reporter? The first thing that any reporter will tell you is that you should meet with a reporter or reporting firm. That way you can have any drivers or software programs loaded into your computer. This may include things such as Case Map or Case Notebook.

If you are working with a reporter for the first time, the meeting may help you resolve connectivity issues if you are using your personal laptop. You don’t want to have any issues when you are trying to do a hearing or a deposition. It should all be resolved before. Ask a reporter to bring a device with the software if you don’t have the proper software or ability.

You’ll also want to install software onto your computer if that is not an option. A transcript is going to be provided by the reporter and that is the point of it all, so be sure to make sure that they either have everything that they need or they have what is required of you.

Reporters often write things out using phonetics so don’t worry that the grammar or a typo will show up. It won’t be there in the final transcript; it will edited and corrected once the document is reviewed or the stenographer will be able to go back and correct it when there is a moment.

A reporter will be able to speak up and get clarification if they have missed anything as well. The accuracy level and skill that a reporter brings to these type of events simply cannot be denied. They also have the experience necessary to be able to speak up and get the correct word or sentence on record.

A reporter usually will send over a rough draft that has been cleaned up as part of a service. That way you can review everything and make notes. Not every service offers this and not all reporters work with realtime so request this specifically if you would like it and get a realtime reporter.

These reporters often have certifications that show how proficient they are at reporting. Two of the best certifications are CCRR and CRR, which require speed tests that are times and high rates of translation to receive. Realtime allows for sending transcripts to other places and allows for making notes, testimony, seeing questions and answers, and more right in the moment and not after.

If you’re an attorney and haven’t tried this service yet, test it out and see what you think! You may be thrilled with the results and the options that it affords you– and all in real time. Check it out and you may be glad that you did.

Court reporting may be enhanced or even complemented by technology, but can it replace a real court reporter?

Court reporting is when a person or some type of technology records what is happening in a legal setting, usually a deposition or a court room hearing. While tech has come about in the last few decades that can mimic the job of a reporter, can it really provide services that match the need for accurate transcriptions?

It may seem that automated tech is more a part of our lives now than ever. We see it as the grocery store, or hear an automated voice thanking us as we leave the bank for using their ATM services. But does voice recording technology and more have the potential to replace human reporters? The answer is most likely no.

Here is why…

Human confidentiality.

You can’t hack a human, although a reporter could mess up and confide in others the details of cases that they are working. However, the far and away majority of reporters that work in court have a good understanding of what is required of them and that includes the oath they have taken to keep all of the information that they type or hear confidential.

When it comes to tech that records voices, there is always an additional risk that the transcript contents may be brought to light. With more people handling this transcript than with just a reporter, it adds more risk to the privacy of each case. Storage digitally may also be an issue.

People don’t have glitches.

One of the benefits of using people for court reporting and not machines is that they don’t get glitches. Machines and tech can backfire and break, but a human being is unlikely to do so unless they get a cold, and even then they can call out sick. Also, any machine that breaks will cost money to fix and may slow down everything.

They can comprehend the situation and ask for clarity when needed.

People are able to comprehend what’s going on, tell who is speaking, and ask for clarification on something if they need to. This ability to work within the present moment and prevent error before it happens is something you’d be hard-pressed to find with current tech. They also prepare for a deposition and will have terms such as medical terms down pat before the process even begins.

Transcript availability.

They’ll be able to provide an immediate availability when it comes to the transcript, no matter what format is required.

Does court reporting require people to do it? For the time being, YES! Human reporters are not going to be replaced any time soon. They are too useful and skilled  at working in their field to imagine otherwise.