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Certified Georgia Court Reporters

How Excellent Court Reporting Can Smooth the Process of Conducting Remote Depositions

Posted on May 8, 2024 in: Certified Georgia Court Reporters, Depositions, Remote Court Court Reporters, Remote Court Reporting, Remote Depo, Remote Deposition, Uncategorized|Comments Off on How Excellent Court Reporting Can Smooth the Process of Conducting Remote Depositions

The keys to a smooth-running remote deposition are "setting" both locations in advance, coordination during the deposition, and "planning for adversity."

Experienced Court Reporters Make Remote Depositions Easy

Conducting depositions remotely is relatively common in legal proceedings if a witness is not within a reasonable driving distance from the court district. Remote depositions have some obvious benefits, including reducing travel, hotel, and related expenses for witnesses and attorneys, saving time that would have been spent in traveling, mitigating environmental impacts, and more.

Female seated at desk with laptop and stenography machine_Experienced court reporter

On the other hand, there are some unique challenges for conducting remote depositions. This is the case for any sort of meeting or event that occurs simultaneously in more than one location. This is where having excellent court reporting — like Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC — can help smooth out those difficulties. If you need court reporting services, call us here at (866) 689-1837. We accept orders via email, phone, and via telefax at (866) 870 – 6032.

The keys to a smooth-running remote deposition are “setting” both locations in advance, coordination during the deposition, and “planning for adversity.”

A Court Reporter Prepares the Room Early.

Excellent court reporters always arrive as early as possible to “set” the room in advance for the remote deposition. This is not always possible, but it is the best practice. Attorneys control the factual and legal aspects of a deposition, but a good court reporter controls the setting to ensure that the questions and answers are accurately recorded and transcribed.

“Setting” the room involves having the stenotype and recording machines ready to begin and having paper, exhibit stickers, and other materials ready for immediate use. For remote depositions, “setting” the room involves accomplishing this at both locations. Generally, your excellent court reporter will arrive at least an hour early and be in quick communication with the staff at the remote location. Video, audio, and computer linkages must be tested and adjusted accordingly. If documents and exhibits have already been provided to the attorneys at the remote location, those should also be made ready. If not, then copies should be sent during the “prep stage,” or plans should be made for sending the documents/exhibits in an efficient and timely fashion as the deposition proceeds.

The Difference of an Experienced Human In The Room.

As the start time approaches, good court reporters also check and test to ensure that the video, audio, and computer connections are working at peak performance — or, at least, working sufficiently to accurately relay the questions and receive the responses.

Where possible, it is often best to have the known deposition exhibits marked/stickered in advance. This is true with any deposition, but this is particularly helpful with remote depositions. This is not strictly necessary, and marking exhibits can be done on an ongoing-in-deposition basis. However, everyone will need to have some patience as that is done. This is part of the coordination aspect of a remote deposition.

Another aspect of coordination is to ensure and test the ability to transmit new documents during the deposition. Inevitably, one of the attorneys will want to mark a new document as an exhibit. Possibly, that new document is not in the hands of the attorneys at the remote location. Thus, there must be a method of efficiently transferring a copy (via electronic transmission or even via facsimile). This might involve the necessity to scan the document; good court reporters are prepared for this.

Finally, excellent court reporting services will have possible solutions for unexpected adversity. These can include problems with the internet linkages, problems with the remote service platform, the inability of parties to sign in and “join” the remote meeting, etc. Good court reporters will have various solutions to these types of unexpected events and will resolve the problems as quickly as possible.

Contact Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting Today For Experienced Reporters.

For more information, call the experienced court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting. We follow the best practices in order to provide excellent litigation support to our customers. Contact us today to learn about our services and how we can help you.

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Elder Law Practice: Use Court Reporting to Defeat Will Contests

Posted on January 15, 2024 in: Certified Georgia Court Reporters, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions, lawyers, Remote Court Court Reporters, Remote Court Reporting, Remote Depo, Remote Deposition, Remote Videotaped Deposition|Comments Off on Elder Law Practice: Use Court Reporting to Defeat Will Contests

It is true in every legal jurisdiction here in the U.S. that, to be legally valid, all estate planning documents must be in writing and witnessed. For example, a last will and testament must be in writing, and the signing of the will must be witnessed by at least two persons (who also must sign as witnesses). So, a video-taped or recorded will is not legally valid if there is no written counterpart. For this reason, few elder law attorneys think of having a court reporter attend a will signing.

However, there is tremendous legal value in having a court reporter attend a will signing and prepare a certified transcript and video recording. The value is in providing solid — and nearly irrefutable — evidence that can be used to defend against and defeat certain types of will contests. If you want to make court reporting an integral part of your elder law practice, consider Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC. Call us here at (866) 689-1837. We accept orders via email, phone, and via telefax at (866) 870-6032.

What is a Will Contest, and How Can a Certified Court Reporting Transcript Help?

A “will contest” is a legal proceeding that occurs after a decedent’s death that challenges the legal validity of the last will and testament. Many of the legal challenges are based on various possible legal theories concerning the mental capacity of the maker of the will or the validity of the execution. For example, a disgruntled heir might claim that the will was NOT signed in the presence of two witnesses. Whether such is legally “true” depends on the evidence that can be marshaled to support the claim of invalidity or to defeat the claim. With just this example, as a matter of preserving evidence, we can see the great value of having a certified court reporter attend a will signing.

Another potential claim that can be made by a disgruntled heir is that the maker of the will lacked mental capacity. For example, a person with a clear case of dementia or insanity does not have the legal capacity to execute a will. Again, we can see the great value of having a court reporter attend a will signing because the certified transcript and video recording become evidence that can defeat a claim that the maker of the will lacked mental capacity. Indeed, with the presence of a court reporter and video recording machines, an extended effort can be made to demonstrate mental capacity.

This is similarly true for other legal arguments that might invalidate a will, such as duress or undue influence. Duress will invalidate a will if the will was signed under some form of coercion or force. A certified transcript and video can be used as evidence to defeat that kind of argument. With undue influence, typically, the argument is that an aging person came under the emotional influence of a strong personality — often a caregiver — and gave to that person a substantial portion of the person’s estate. Again, a certified transcript and video of the will signing can be used as evidence to defeat that kind of argument.

Contact Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting Today

For more information, call the experienced court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting. We follow the best practices in order to provide excellent litigation support to our customers. Contact us today to learn about our services and how we can help you.

Court Reporting and The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act

Posted on October 18, 2023 in: Certified Georgia Court Reporters, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions, lawyers, Remote Court Court Reporters, Remote Court Reporting, Remote Depo, Remote Deposition, Remote Videotaped Deposition|Comments Off on Court Reporting and The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act

The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (“UIDDA”) was drafted and suggested to the Legislatures of the 50 states by the Uniform Law Commission (“ULC”) in 2007. Many uniform laws have been created by the ULC (and by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws). The general idea is/has been to offer or suggest a uniform law that will be adopted by all 50 states in the country. The most famous uniform law here in the U.S. is probably the Uniform Commercial Code.

In this respect, the UIDDA has been very successful since it has now been adopted by 48 states, most recently by Texas (although the Texas Supreme Court must still take action to operationalize the UIDDA).

Court Reporting and the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act

For court reporting, the UIDDA has been one factor among many that has increased the number and prevalence of depositions being taken in other states. This trend has, in turn, impelled the increasing use of remote deposition methods and procedures creating some unique challenges and leading to the rise of excellent national court reporting services like Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC. If you need out-of-state court reporting services or cross-state court reporting, call us here at (866) 689-1837. We accept orders via email, phone and via telefax at (866) 870-6032.

How does the UIDDA affect depositions?

The UIDDA distinguishes between what it calls the “trial-state” and the “discovery-state.” The former is where litigation has been filed and the latter is the state in which a deposition (or other discovery procedure) is needed. The UIDDA establishes uniform procedures whereby litigants can present a clerk of the court located in the discovery-state with a subpoena issued by a court in the trial-state. Under the UIDDA, when presented with such a trial-state subpoena, the discovery-state clerk of court will issue a subpoena — on the same terms as the trial-state subpoena — that will be valid and enforceable under the laws and local procedures of the discovery-state. In this manner, non-parties in the discovery-state are compelled to respond to the trial-state subpoena by their local and state laws. The UIDDA also gives the trial-state litigant issuing the subpoena the ability to seek enforcement of the subpoena under the discovery-state rules and laws.

The UIDDA also eliminates the need for things such as letters rogatory, commission or quasi-court actions, and/or the filing of various potential miscellaneous legal actions against third-party discovery targets, including individuals and corporations.

To protect residents of the discovery-state, the UIDDA requires that the discovery sought by the trial-state litigant comply with the rules of the discovery-state. Further, efforts by the targets of the trial-state subpoena can resist the discovery via motions to quash or to modify the subpoena issued. Resolutions of such motions are to be governed by the laws and rules of the discovery-state.

Contact Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting Today

For more information, call the experienced court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting. We follow the best practices in order to provide excellent litigation support to our customers. Contact us today to learn about our services and how we can help you.

Using a Transcript to Impeach a Witness

Posted on October 4, 2023 in: Certified Georgia Court Reporters, Court Reporters, Court Reporting, Depositions, lawyers, Remote Court Court Reporters, Remote Court Reporting, Remote Depo, Remote Deposition, Remote Videotaped Deposition|Comments Off on Using a Transcript to Impeach a Witness

A transcript prepared by a court reporting service can be very important for many reasons, including the ability to use the transcript to impeach a witness at a later hearing or deposition. To be useful for purposes of impeachment, the transcript must be accurate and complete. This is one reason that it is essential to have an excellent court reporting service — like Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC. — working for you and your Law Firm. If you need court reporting services, call us here at (866) 689-1837. We accept orders via email, phone, and via telefax at (866) 870 – 6032.

Why Impeach an Opposing Witness?

The purpose of impeaching an opposing witness is to undermine the witness’ credibility with the fact-finder — the judge or jury. Logically, the flip side of undermining an opposing witness’ credibility is to bolster and improve the credibility of your own witness. When facts are in heated dispute, witness credibility becomes the difference between winning and losing.

How to Impeach an Witness.

Impeaching a witness is done with transcripts of previous testimony that has been taken before a court reporter and reduced to a transcript. The testimony needs to have been sworn testimony before a court or during a deposition. The transcript can be from a different case than the one being litigated.

Impeachment occurs when the witness said one thing at an earlier hearing/deposition but is now saying the opposite. In a dark light, the possibility of impeachment prevents witnesses from purposely changing their story from hearing to hearing and from deposition to deposition. In a brighter light, impeachment prevents fading memory from causing unnecessary and confusing variations in the factual evidence.

Impeaching a witness flows from the court reporter’s transcript. When the witness is currently testifying, the opposing counsel has the earlier transcript available. When there is a direct contradiction between the current sworn testimony and testimony recorded in the transcript, then on cross-examination, the inconsistency can be brought forward. The questions lay a foundation, and then the relevant portion of the testimony is read aloud. Something like this:

Q. Previously, did you give testimony at … [DATE, TIME, PLACE ]
A. Yes.
Q. You were put under oath before you gave that testimony?
A. Yes.
Q. During that testimony, were you asked this question, and did you give this answer? … reading from the transcript…

Where the fact at issue is important, and the testimony is in direct conflict, the fact-finders begin to doubt which story is the correct one and whether the witness is being truthful. The credibility of a witness can suffer more damage still as opposing counsel expends significant effort to attempt rehabilitation.

The rules and procedures for impeachment are different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Often, efforts to impeach will be tightly controlled by the Judge. But, wherever the litigation is being prosecuted, the key is the transcript prepared by a trusted and competent court reporter.

Contact Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting Today

For more information, call the experienced court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting. We follow the best practices in order to provide excellent litigation support to our customers. Contact us today to learn about our services and how we can help you.

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