What $22,000 can buy - court reporters beware!!

What $22,000 can buy - court reporters beware!!

Seems like a little grant from a legislative body can remove court reporters from doing what they do better than any piece of hardware, protecting the record and producing the best document possible for use in higher courts if need be. Get bean counters and a good salesman together and that's all that's needed to sell an inferior system to an unknowing court administrator!!

~ the Beagle

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Village Court Awarded Grant for Renovations, Improvements

Senator Kemp Hannon and Assemblyman Jim Conte recently announced he has been advised by the State's Chief Administrative Judge, Ann Pfau, that the Village of Farmingdale has been awarded a $22,153.48 grant under the State's Justice Court Assistance Program to undertake renovations and to purchase equipment to improve their operations and make their facilities more secure.

Senator Hannon said, "It will help the Farmingdale Village Court serve the people even better. I look forward to the continued operation of the Justice Court Assistance Program and to working with the State court system to ensure our local courts remain an integral component of our justice system."

"It is important for these courts to have the resources they need to provide the best security and the most efficient judicial process for the residents of Farmingdale and Long Island," added Conte.

Village Administrator Dave Smollett said the grant will provide upgraded computers and printers to enhance automation in their justice court system."

"It also provides for an enhanced security system which will allow us to purchase and install security and monitoring equipment," Smollett added. "We also received a digital recorder/court reporting system which records court sessions and eliminates having to hire a court stenographer for every court session."

Despite their critical function, these courts often have few resources - reflecting the budgetary limitations of the towns and villages that support them. Recognizing this, the State Legislature in 1999 established the Justice Court Assistance Program to provide supplementary state assistance in the form of grants to the town and village justice courts. These grants, awarded by the Chief Administrative Judge of the State Court System, make it possible for justice courts to acquire essential equipment, enhance security, and maintain a dignified and appropriate appearance.

"These grants go a long way toward providing needed funding for local courts, thus, saving our communities valuable tax dollars," continued Conte. "I am pleased that I could do my part in helping to promote these important grants."

Trial is all Wet!

I guess they should employ postmen...neither rain nor sleet shall keep the postman from his rounds but a little bit of water can certainly cause havoc in a courthouse! A good court reporter would be there with his equipment ready to take the testimony and get the litigation on the right track....

~ The Beagle

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Flooding postpones case
March 12 2008
The civil trial of four men accused of stripping a woman of her trousers in public last year has been postponed to April because of flood damage to Umlazi's Equality Court."...Due to severe floods in Durban last night, some recording equipment (is) defective, including the ones used in this trial," magistrate Louis Radyn said on Wednesday.Several courtrooms were flooded after a downpour in Durban on Tuesday night. Mopping up was still underway at 11am.Thulani and Sibusiso Cele, Sitha Nzuza and Wiseman Mzotho are on trial on charges of infringement of human rights and dignity.

Court Computer Lets Crooks Go Free!!

COURTS AND COMPUTERS ~

If it can happen, it will happen!

~ The Beagle

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March 14, 2008
Court blunders let over 500 off hook
Leeds Magistrates' Court

By Jonathan Reed Political Editor

A QUARTER of a century of failings at Yorkshire's biggest criminal court allowed hundreds of defendants to evade justice while details of up to 1,200 more have not been put on the police national computer amid a "systematic covering up of errors."

Justice Secretary Jack Straw condemned the "lamentable" failings after an inquiry revealed up to 555 defendants were either never tried or never served their sentence for offences including indecent assault, wounding and burglary.Warrants in their cases were simply withdrawn by legal advisers – or clerks – at Leeds Magistrates Court in an administrative swoop to clear backlogs.

Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Court Administration also said it was "unacceptable" that failures to log court results in hundreds of cases between 1980 and 2004 – the vast majority of which were between 2001 and 2004 – mean there are no accurate results of what happened to 2,206 defendants.

As a result, up to 1,200 convicted criminals have avoided being put on the national police database, leaving their crimes to go unnoticed when background checks are carried out or other police forces are making inquiries.

The report also reveals court legal advisers made up records for 12 defendants by guessing the outcome of their case – because the true judgment was missing – and one offender may have been sentenced twice for the same offence.Last night there was fury from MPs as Mr Straw, who ordered the inquiry in November, revealed disciplinary action is under way.

Two people have already been disciplined for gross misconduct.Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, said: "This statement is an extraordinary description of institutional chaos and systematic abuse at Leeds Magistrates Court."The fact that we are also talking about legal advisers actually making up results by guesswork must surely mean that we are talking about a criminal offence."There are still a number of unanswered questions that must be clarified."

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Herbert said: "There was a catalogue of negligence and poor record keeping among court staff that has undermined the criminal justice system in West Yorkshire and let down victims of crime."The nature of the failings did raise the question of whether they might be occurring in other courts, he said.

The report is one of two inquiries ordered by Mr Straw after concerns were raised about the recording of cases by the court and the withdrawal of warrants.

Hundreds of rulings were either not recorded or put down wrongly, four artificial registers were created in 2002 to cover up the failures and in 2004 legal advisers made up the results of 27 cases involving 12 defendants.

The chaos means details of up to 1,200 offenders were not logged on the police national computer.A protocol used between 1999 and 2004 meant batches of warrants were withdrawn in bulk to tackle backlogs, meaning 555 defendants could have evaded justice.

Last night the Ministry of Justice said procedures were in place to trace offenders.Leeds solicitor Grahame Stowe said a "national obsession" with statistics led to the problems and called on the Government to stop interfering with the justice system.

New Career Opportunities in Court Reporting and Spinoff Occupations ~

Court Reporting and much much more...new occupations involving real time reporting are demanding higher levels of students than ever before. If you are interested in learning more about how to enter this new and exciting job market, read this article and check out www.ncraonline.com and your local community college for further information.

What are you waiting for?

~ The Beagle

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Disabilities Act and Telecom Legislation Drive Demand for More Court Reporters, NCRA Says

WASHINGTON (Map) - Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and various pieces of telecommunications legislation are driving the need for more closed captioning and realtime translation for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, not enough court reporters are graduating to keep up with the demand, the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) said today.
On the eve of the 17th anniversary of the ADA being signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, the Census Bureau reports that more than 51 million Americans have some level of disability. The National Association for the Deaf estimates that hearing loss affects some 28 million Americans. For Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing, court reporters provide access to important information -- a key aim of the ADA -- through closed-captioning and realtime translation.

Likewise, telecom legislation calls for various types of information technologies such as hi-def television to be made more accessible to people with disabilities, a need which will only grow as new technologies like Internet phones and iPods become more widely used by the population.
But a recently released NCRA report documents a steadily declining, downward trend in the number of court reporters graduating this year from NCRA-certified programs, with only about 350 graduates in 2007, when three times that number are needed nationwide.
"While both the demand for court reporters and the need for training in this profession's technological advances are on the rise, the ranks of court reporters and students of this profession continue to grow thin. This trend needs to be reversed quickly," said NCRA executive
director and CEO Mark Golden.

To help meet the need for court reporters, NCRA is reaching out to interest potential students at http://www.bestfuture.com/. In addition, NCRA is supporting bills (S 675 and HR 1687) before Congress that call for competitive grants to train captioners and reporters who specialize in realtime and Communication Access Realtime Translation.

The National Court Reporters Association, a 24,000-member nonprofit organization, represents the judicial reporting and captioning professions. Members include official court reporters, deposition reporters, broadcast captioners, providers of realtime communication access services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people and others who capture and convert the spoken word into information bases and readable formats. For information on court reporter graduation rates, visit http://www.ncraonline.org/.

Court Reporter Saves Prosecutor...

Brave Court Reporter Saves the Day...court reporters seem to add something to a courtroom those recording machines simply cannot do...they help protect the lives of innocent people!

Do not let the bean counters remove this bastion of civility in our courtrooms!!

Write a letter to your superior court justice and let them know that the American Justice System needs people not machines!!

~ The Beagle

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Courtroom chaos as convict with razor attacks prosecutor
BY JOHN MARZULLI DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, March 12th 2008
Ward for News

Attorney Harry Batchelder (above) shows cut suffered when he and court reporter Ronald Tolkin (below) had to stop his client from attacking prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny.
Ward for News

A razor-wielding drug thug grabbed U.S. prosecutor Carolyn Pokorny in a headlock yesterday and slammed her to the floor at his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court.
Victor Wright had Pokorny by the hair and seemed ready to wield the makeshift weapon when his lawyer and a court reporter leapt in to save her.

"I think he was going to slash her throat," defense lawyer Harry Batchelder, 72, told the Daily News. "He fully intended to maim her."

"His face was full of rage," agreed Ronald Tolkin, the 60-year-old court reporter.
Wright, 37, was a key lieutenant of drug kingpin Kenneth (Supreme) McGriff who founded the Supreme Team in the 1980s, a drug gang that wreaked havoc in southeast Queens.
McGriff is serving a life sentence for murder at Florence ADX Penitentiary in Colorado, the nation's most secure federal prison. Wright's sentencing was adjourned after the shocking courtroom attack.

It didn't appear that escape was the intention of the powerfully built inmate - just revenge.
"He thinks she framed him," said Batchelder.

The havoc in Judge Frederic Block's courtroom started as Wright was led in through a side door shortly after 3 p.m.

He made a beeline straight for Pokorny, chief of the narcotics section for the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office, and took her down.

"He had her by the hair, she was screaming," said courtroom clerk Michael Innelli. "She was at the bottom of a pile."

Wright dropped the makeshift weapon on the carpet during the struggle with Batchelder and Tolkin.

Eugene Corcoran, chief U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of New York, said an internal investigation is underway to determine how the weapon was smuggled into the courthouse.

Court Reporting System - Is This Another Tale of Two Cities?

Two points of view on the FTR recording system being used in Wellington and Aukland. Whose brush carries the most paint?

~ the Beagle

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Press Release: New Zealand Government Digital transcription technology introducedThursday, 6 March 2008
Hon Rick BarkerMinister for Courts
6 March 2008

Digital transcription technology introduced to the High Court

Digital audio technology for recording and transcribing evidence has been introduced by the High Court in Wellington and Auckland. It is estimated that this technology will reduce court hearing time by between 20-30%, which will assist case throughput.

"For the Record or FTR, provides a high quality recording of the evidence which is then relayed to transcription staff located outside of the courtroom to be typed up as the trial proceeds. This is another demonstration of the Labour-led government's drive to modernise the court system to improve access to justice for all New Zealanders," Court's Minister, Rick Barker said. "The evidence given at a recent high profile murder trial at Wellington High Court was transcribed using the new technology and this was a key factor in reducing the length of the trial from an expected eight weeks to four weeks. The trial time was cut in half and I am certain that this was appreciated by all involved.

"This new technology makes the experience of giving evidence easier for witnesses and a better experience for everyone in the courtroom. It also means trials can proceed more quickly. FTR allows witnesses to speak at a normal, uninterrupted speed and the transcript is printed in the courtroom within 30 minutes of the evidence being given.

“New technology is enabling courts to work more efficiently for the benefit of all court users”, Mr Barker said.

Although digital evidence and recording technology has been used in the District Court for some years, until now, its use in the High Court has been limited to two courtrooms in Auckland. 17 High Court courtrooms and 20 additional District Court courtrooms will be progressively equipped with FTR over the next two years, as well as upgrading the FTR systems already being used in the District Court.

To further improve efficiency, transcription services are moving to being nationally managed. Mr Barker opened Transcription Service Centres in Wellington and Auckland late last year. From June, these Service Centres will begin being linked to local court based transcription staff across the country. Access to a larger, national team of transcription staff means courts will be better resourced to process increasing workloads.
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The Courier-MailBrisbane, AustraliaMark Oberhardt
February 27, 2008

THE Chief Justice, Paul de Jersey, has asked for a ``priority effort`` in rectifying complaints about the Supreme and District Court building's multi million dollar digital recording system.Judges and lawyers are upset about delays in getting transcripts from the system which records court proceedings in criminal and civil trials, sentence hearings, applications and ceremonies such as valedictories.

There have also been delays in court proceedings because the system has failed. Matters came to a head today when it was revealed someone had ``forgotten`` to record the recent valedictory for retiring Judge Garry Forno QC. Transcripts of such events play a role in recording the history of the courts and its officers.

Justice de Jersey said he was aware there had been no recording of Judge Forno's valedictory because of an oversight and he was also aware there were some complaints about the system. He said he had spoken to those responsible for the digital system and asked them to rectify the problems as `` a priority``.

Justice de Jersey said he was certain everything possible was being done to rectify the problems. He added that digital recording was the future of the courts and important so the system moved forward with the times. Digital recording is set to eventually replace all short hand takers who for more than a century have recorded court proceedings. However, the system, installed at a cost of several millions dollars, has had its share of teething problems.

There have been long delays in getting transcripts of trials and sentencing proceedings. Transcripts play a vital role in the day to day running of the court system. Judges and lawyers use the transcripts extensively in trials while sentence remarks are vital in preparing appeals.

Both the Children's Court President, Judge Julie Dick, and the Court of Appeal's President, Margaret McMurdo, made mention of problems in their annual reports to parliament. Several other judges have also made complaints about the system in open court while many lawyers are also critical.

Vulgar Deposition Language - Not Condoned by the Federal Judge

When a deposition goes south, sanctions will most certainly head north!!

- the Beagle

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Lawyer and Client Sanctioned Over Client's Conduct, Use of 'F Word' During Deposition

Shannon P. Duffy - The Legal Intelligencer 03-05-2008

A federal judge has levied sanctions of more than $29,000 on a lawyer and his client after finding that a deposition was a "spectacular failure" because of the client's constant use of vulgar language and insults and dodging or refusing to answer questions, and his lawyer's failure to rein him in.

In his 44-page opinion in GMAC Bank v. HTFC Corp., U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno found that Aaron Wider, the CEO of HTFC, engaged in "hostile, uncivil, and vulgar conduct, which persisted throughout the nearly 12 hours of deposition testimony."

Robreno noted that Wider used the "F word" or variations of it 73 times during the deposition and that the video shows that his lawyer, Joseph R. Ziccardi of Chicago, at one point "snickered" at his client's conduct.

Ziccardi was also to blame, Robreno found, because he failed to stop his client's tirades and persuade him to answer questions.

"The nature of Wider's misconduct was so severe and pervasive, and his violations of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure so frequent and blatant, that any reasonable attorney representing Wider would have intervened in an effort to curb Wider's misconduct," Robreno wrote.

"Ziccardi's failure to address, then and there, Wider's misconduct could have no other effect but to empower Wider to persist in his behavior. Under these circumstances, the court equates Ziccardi's silence with endorsement and ratification of Wider's misconduct," Robreno wrote.

As a result, Robreno concluded that both Wider and Ziccardi should be sanctioned under Rule 30 and Rule 37, and that Wider must appear for a new deposition which will be taken under the supervision of a federal magistrate judge.

Ziccardi declined to be interviewed, saying he did not want to make any public comments because the matter "is still pending."

In a footnote, Robreno seemed to apologize to readers for the coarse language he included in the opinion, but said "while the use of profanity in the opinion is distasteful, it is necessary in order to capture the nature of the offensive conduct displayed by the deponent."

The opinion includes lengthy quotes from Wider's deposition which Robreno said were "only a few examples" of Wider's misconduct.

"Wider's assault on the deposition proceedings involved three types of inappropriate behavior: 1) engaging in hostile, uncivil, and vulgar conduct; 2) impeding, delaying, and frustrating fair examination; and 3) failing to answer and providing intentionally evasive answers to deposition questions," Robreno wrote.

Throughout the deposition, Robreno said, Wider "sought to intimidate opposing counsel by maintaining a persistently hostile demeanor, employing uncivil insults, and using profuse vulgarity."

In one passage, GMAC's lawyer, Robert B. Bodzin of Kleinbard Bell & Brecker in Philadelphia, asked Wider to open a file so that Bodzin could ask questions about certain documents.

According to the transcript, as quoted in Robreno's opinion, Wider erupted, saying: "'I'm taking a break. F--- him. You open up the document. You want me to look at something, you get the document out. Earn your f------ money, a------. Isn't the law wonderful?'"

In another passage, Bodzin said: "We're going to adjourn this deposition if this happens again because you are offending every single person."

According to Robreno's opinion, Wider responded: "'Don't speak for anybody in here except yourself f--- face.'"

When Bodzin said he was speaking for himself and the court reporter, Wider said: "'If she had a problem with me she would say something. She knows it's [not] directed toward her. It's directed to you because you're a piece of s--- and a piece of garbage and I'm the only person in your life that is f------ up your world and I enjoy it.'"

Robreno said the transcript showed that Wider "used the word 'f---' and variants thereof no less than 73 times."

By contrast, Robreno noted, the word "contract" was used only 14 times.
"Such profuse vulgarity had no constructive purpose," Robreno wrote. "The court is left with the impression that such abusive language was chosen solely to intimidate and demean opposing counsel."

Wider's vulgarity wasn't the only problem, Robreno said.

"Equally serious is Wider's willful exploitation of the discovery process. Wider impeded the deposition by improperly interposing his own objections, delayed the proceedings by providing unnecessarily protracted answers and repeatedly interrupting counsel for GMAC's questioning, and proudly expressed his intent to frustrate his examination," Robreno wrote.

Wider abruptly stormed out of the deposition on several occasions, Robreno said, and the video shows that Wider "would follow his inappropriate, obstructive, or dilatory remarks with a gleeful smirk directed at his counsel, at the transcriptionist, and even directly at the camera."

At one point, Robreno said, Wider patted himself on the back "after a particularly odious instance of obstruction," in order to flaunt his abuse of the deposition process.

Robreno also found that Wider "often refused to answer questions, and, when he did answer questions, provided intentionally uncooperative and long-winded answers to straightforward questions."

In court papers, Ziccardi argued that Wider's refusal to respond to questions during his deposition was justified because many of GMAC's questions were irrelevant.

Robreno disagreed, saying the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require a deponent to answer all questions -- even questions for which there is an objection -- unless the witness's lawyer explicitly instructs him not to answer or moves to suspend the deposition.

Ziccardi also argued that Wider's conduct was the result of provocative and accusatory questions from Bodzin.

Robreno flatly rejected that, saying: "This argument is simply astonishing. As evidenced in the video ... counsel for GMAC comported himself with courtesy, respect, and professionalism; this was no easy feat, considering Wider's unrelenting insults, vulgarity, and mockery, most of which were a direct assault on counsel for GMAC."

Bodzin's questions were "far from provocative," Robreno found, but instead were "relevant questions of the type seen in the ordinary course of a deposition in a commercial case."
Robreno found that Bodzin "exercised great restraint in the face of Wider's persistent attempts to incite him to anger" and "could not have been less provocative."

Ziccardi also argued that Wider suffers from a mental condition that explains his conduct and should be considered a "mitigating factor" in imposing any sanctions.

But Robreno refused to consider the argument, noting that Wider's doctor was present at a recent hearing, but was never called to the stand.

Ziccardi filed medical records under seal, Robreno noted, but failed to give copies of the records to opposing counsel even after he was ordered to do so by the court.

In a footnote, Robreno said that in the hearing, Ziccardi "purported to offer an apology to the court" for his client's conduct, but that "Wider himself remained silent throughout the proceedings."

In the final section of the opinion, Robreno explained why Ziccardi, too, must be sanctioned for Wider's misconduct.

"Throughout the deposition, notwithstanding the severe and repeated nature of Wider's misconduct, Ziccardi persistently failed to intercede and correct Wider's violations of the Federal Rules," Robreno wrote.

"Instead, Ziccardi sat idly by as a mere spectator to Wider's abusive, obstructive, and evasive behavior; and when he did speak, he either incorrectly directed the witness not to answer, dared opposing counsel to file a motion to compel, or even joined in Wider's offensive conduct," Robreno wrote.

In a footnote, Robreno said the video showed Ziccardi "chuckling at Wider's abusive behavior" and Bodzin's comment that "'your snickering counsel is not appropriate either, because all you're doing is encouraging the behavior of your client.'"

In court papers, Ziccardi argued that he believed he had tried to curb his client's behavior, but that most of his efforts to do so occurred off the record.

Robreno was unimpressed, saying "even if this assertion is to be believed, Wider's continuing misconduct indicates that whatever efforts Ziccardi made were woefully ineffectual. In fact, Ziccardi's meek attempts to intercede and his otherwise silent toleration of Wider's conduct only emboldened Wider to further flout the procedural rules."

Although a lawyer may at times be "blindsided" by a client's misconduct, Robreno found that such a lawyer "cannot, however, simply sit back, allow the deposition to proceed, and then blame the client when the deposition process breaks down."

Veritext Court Reporting Firm - Growing Larger & Larger

Veritext is growing and growing and growing ~ what's next? Maybe they will purchase Merrill Legal....

~ the Beagle

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Veritext, a court reporting firm owned by The Riverside Company, has acquired Staten Island-based Priority One Court Reporting Services Inc. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE
Veritext, a platform company owned by The Riverside Company and among the largest court-reporting firms in the United States, has sworn-in Priority One Court Reporting Services, Inc. ("Priority One") as an add-on acquisition. Priority One is a court-reporting firm based in Staten Island, New York with a specialized list of clients. Riverside acquired Veritext as a platform in August 2005 with equity from its 2003 Capital Appreciation Fund. In the latest fiscal year, Veritext has driven 16% organic growth year-over-year while successfully integrating seven add-on acquisitions. This latest purchase marks Riverside's fifth of the year.

"Acquisitions are core to Riverside's investment strategy for Veritext," said Andrew Strauss, Riverside Partner. "The company has proven its ability to execute and integrate add-ons smoothly and without interruption to other initiatives. We expect Veritext to incorporate Priority One equally well and expect the acquisition to enhance Veritext's value as the leading consolidation platform in its industry."

Headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, and operating 11 regional offices, Veritext works with a national network of 500 independent contractors and has affiliations with more than 600 court-reporting agencies and 9,000 individual court reporters. Court reporters provide the transcriptions of legal proceedings including depositions, trials and arbitrations, as well as events such as hearings, board meetings, stockholder meetings, conferences, conventions and media events.

Founded in 1993, Priority One complements Veritext's New York presence. Priority One focuses on providing transcription services for asbestos litigation and, as a result, has become known as a specialist in these complex cases. In the highly fragmented court-reporting industry, Priority One fuels Veritext's already strong brand recognition as an industry leader in all aspects of court reporting.

"Riverside's ongoing support for acquisitions has helped us assimilate a rapid succession of add-ons during the past few years while continuing our organic growth," said Michael Sandler, President and Chief Executive Officer of Veritext. "As Priority One becomes part of Veritext, we will use the same successful partnership to drive our success. We look forward to Priority One strengthening our number one presence in our key strategic New York market and enriching our specialized capabilities."

Working with Strauss on the transaction from Riverside were Chip Walker, Principal and Adam Friend, Senior Associate.

The Riverside Company
The Riverside Company is the largest global private equity firm focused on the smaller end of the middle market ("SEMM") and is one of the industry's most experienced leveraged buyout investors. Riverside specializes in investing in premier SEMM companies (those with enterprise values of less than $150 million) and partners with strong management teams to build companies through acquisitions and value-added growth. Since 1988, the firm has invested in 181 transactions with a total enterprise value of $3.4 billion. Its current portfolio in the U.S. and Europe numbers 60, with combined annual sales of $3 billion, EBITDA of $428 million and more than 11,000 employees. Riverside offers the resources to complete acquisitions smoothly and in as little as 30 days � thanks to its sizeable pool of capital under management (nearly $2 billion in nine funds), over 150 professionals in 17 offices (Amsterdam, Atlanta, Budapest, Brussels, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, Madrid, Munich, New York, Prague, San Francisco, Seoul, Stockholm, Tokyo and Warsaw), and long-standing relationships with partner lenders. Five of seven of the firm's mature vintages are currently top quartile, and the firm's investors include the world's leading pension funds, endowments, funds-of-funds, insurance companies and banks. Please visit www.riversidecompany.com and www.riversideeurope.com for more information.

Veritext Corp.
Veritext is a national provider of court-reporting services headquartered in New Jersey and is one of the largest court-reporting firms in the country. Veritext is supported nationally by over 500 independent contractors, complemented by more than 600 additional affiliate agencies. This enables Veritext to provide deposition and litigation services for its clients anywhere in the United States, as well as internationally. In addition to traditional deposition services such as daily copy delivery, delivery through E-mail, condensed transcripts, conference rooms, interpreting of languages and video services, Veritext provides advanced services such as Internet document repository, Internet scheduling, real-time transcription and remote video transcription. For more information, please visit www.veritext.com.

Priority One Reporting Services, Inc.
Since 1993, from its Staten Island headquarters, Priority One has provided court reporting services to the New York and New Jersey legal community. Often focused on the most complex cases, including asbestos litigation, the company delivers its sought-after services through its network of experienced, reliable and accurate court reporters.

Court Reporters Chided for Falling Down Unsafe Stairs

Jeez, you would think that worker safety would be rather important in the eyes of our justice system...but think again if you work in the courthouse that is overseen by this chief justice. Fall down here and you might find yourself in a lot of trouble!! Worker safety should be a very high priority and that's just not my opinion either.

~ the Beagle

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Court reporters warned against broadcasting grouses to the media
Paul HenryTuesday, March 04, 2008

UPSET that the fall of a female court reporter down 11 flights of steps was published in the Observer, Chief Justice Zaila McCalla last Monday warned against any of the court reporters going to the media.

According to several court reporters present in the department at the visit, McCalla advised in no uncertain terms that she does not like when "the media get wind of these things" and that nothing will be accomplished by them "running" to the media.

"She was obviously upset," said one court reporter, "you could see it."
Other disgruntled court reporters told the Observer that McCalla's concern should not be whether the media get wind of court workers tumbling down steps but what can be done to prevent a reoccurrence.

They said that allowing a second elevator currently being installed to terminate on the third floor, where their department is located, is the only solution to using the steep stairwell with its "dangerous" slippery tiles.

Court reporter Sharon Patterson, 35, had two weeks ago, plunged headlong down the 11 flights of steps spilling onto the second floor, damaging tissues in her left shoulder and right knee in the process. She should have started physiotherapy yesterday, the Observer was told.

The week before, another court reporter fell from the same staircase, narrowly escaping injuries. In 1996 another court reporter broke an arm after falling down the same steps, the Observer was told. Patterson's colleagues blamed the steepness of the staircase, the slippery tiles and metal strips on the steps for the frequent falls. They complained that the steps are made even harder to ascend when they are carrying the weighty stenograph machines used in court.

Coupled with the chief justice's warning, the court reporters were the more upset to learn that the elevator now being installed is solely for the transport of accused from the court's holding cell on the ground floor to the three courtrooms on the first floor.

"All they care about is things not coming in the newspapers, the building and prisoners," lamented one staffer, before asking, "what about us, the workers?"

State Faces Shortage of Court Reporters

It seems as though that there are lots of jobs available ~ they simply need qualified applicants.

~ the Beagle

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WISCONSIN STATE JOURNALSUN., DEC 23, 2007
State faces shortage of court reporters
By Ed Treleven

In courtrooms, lawyers question, witnesses recall and judges rule and opine. But if the court reporter isn't there to take down every last word, it might as well not have ever happened.

Creating a record of what goes on in the courtroom is such an important function that state court officials are concerned about a growing shortage of qualified court reporters, the people — usually women these days — who sit quietly at the front of courtrooms everywhere and write down everything that's said.

"This is really a big issue for the system," said state courts director John Voelker. "Of our major business functions, making the record is one of them. We can't have court without it. We don't want to be in a situation where we have to cancel proceedings."

With a growing number of state court reporters reaching retirement eligibility in coming years — about a third of the state's 311 court reporters are expected to retire in the next 10 years — the problem could become even more urgent.

Currently, three of Wisconsin's 72 counties do not have a court reporter because nobody who was qualified applied for open positions. Instead those counties use digital voice recorders to keep the record of court proceedings, Voelker said. That's despite efforts by the state court system to attract qualified reporters to the profession and to the court system.

Part of the problem, according to some in the field, is that it's a job that gets very little exposure and one that few young people consider as a career. Another is that the training for the job is difficult and demanding: nationally, about 13 percent of those who start training for it finish their degree.

"A lot of people don't know what judicial reporting is," said Rachel Baker, who has taught the subject at Madison Area Technical College for about 20 years. "Unless you've ever been to court, you've never seen a court reporter. You don't think as a child, 'I'm going to grow up and be a court reporter.'"

But for those who make it in the field, the pay is good. It ranges from $36,000 to $70,000 per year in the state court system. Freelance reporters, who work at such things as depositions and arbitration sessions, can earn even more. And with a federal mandate to provide closed captioning for all television broadcasts, those trained for court reporting can also become television captioners, often working from their homes.

Great variety ~ On any given day, Dane County court reporters Ann Albert and Linda Flakne will listen intently to a great variety of court cases, from serious crime to restraining orders to divorce. They're among about 25 who work for the state court system in Dane County. "Our job is to be quiet and listen," said Flakne, who has been a court reporter for 29 years and is the "floater" for District 5 of the state court system, which takes her to courtrooms in and out of Dane County.

She got into the profession at the suggestion of her father, who knew a court reporter, after taking secretarial courses in high school. It's a decision she has never regretted. "It's the variety," she said. "It's like reading a book. We hear different things every day. It's just fun."

Albert, who has been a court reporter for about 24 years, got into the profession at the suggestion of her mother, who watched a reporter at work one day while attending court.

As a member of the Wisconsin Court Reporters Association's public relations committee, Albert has been involved in finding ways to expose high schoolers to court reporting and get them interested in pursuing it as a career. She has worked with MATC students, gone to career fairs and met with high school classes and guidance counselors to attract young people to the profession.

The committee is also trying to attract job candidates from other parts of the U.S. to Wisconsin, she said.

The court system has taken similar measures, Voelker said, along with a few others. For one, it used to cap its experience credit — used to determine pay and seniority for new reporters to the state system — at 10 years. To attract experienced reporters, the cap is now 20 years.

The court system also no longer requires that job candidates pass the National Court Reporters Association speed and accuracy test, he said, which proved difficult for some qualified candidates who graduated from accredited school programs.

But even with those changes, Voelker said, looming court reporter retirements and the shortage of students getting into the profession leaves a gap that needs to be filled. Bayfield, St. Croix and Grant counties are using digital voice recording systems because the court system was unable to hire court reporters for those counties, Voelker said. While a monitor runs the audio equipment and prepares transcripts when needed, live court reporters are preferred.

The shortage is a widespread problem. Pete Wacht, spokesman for the National Court Reporters Association in Vienna, Va., said it's in part due to growing government mandates for services for the hearing impaired. Real-time reporters, who use the same technology as court reporters to provide voice-to-text services for the hearing impaired, are in great demand. The government has also mandated closed captioning on television programs. "The demand is really continuing to grow exponentially," Wacht said.

Voice-to-text computer software has not been the answer, he said. It doesn't work in situations where more than one person is speaking, as in a courtroom, because in order to work, the software needs to be "trained" to the sound of an individual's voice. It also requires speakers to speak slowly.

"We don't know when it will be there, if it will be there," Wacht said.

Demanding job ~ Meanwhile, Madison Area Technical College's court reporting program, one of two in Wisconsin, produces about five graduates per year out of the 25 or so that start taking the two-year course every year. Most people take 33 months to complete the coursework.
The numbers alone show how demanding the job can be, said Baker.

"You have to concentrate," she said. "You have to really enjoy words and the English language. You need to be strong at grammar. You just need to have that interest in what you're doing to keep you sitting at that machine and building your speed. So you need to have a good vocabulary. You need to be well-read. And then, just the tenacity to stick with it."

And it takes practice, practice and more practice. To graduate, court reporters must write 225 words per minute for five minutes at 95 percent accuracy. "You can't just wait until the night before a test to practice," Baker said. It's got to be every day, and we recommend two to three hours a day outside of class."

The machine that court reporters use, called a stenotype, consists of 23 keys, each representing a phonetic sound. Those keys are pushed individually or in combinations to re-create those phonetic sounds into a kind of coded format. Creating words and sentences on a stenotype is not unlike playing several keys at once on a piano to create a chord. Computer software is used to translate those coded phonetic sounds into English. In the old days, court reporters had to type out transcripts from their phonetic notes.

Students learn how to write typical phrases they might use on a daily basis, such as "beyond a reasonable doubt," and to do it in one stroke using a combination of keys.

"I liken it to, you've never played the piano before, but I'm going to teach you to play the piano and in two to three years you're going to play Carnegie Hall," said Lisa Hubacher, who also teaches at MATC. She said it's a tough skill to learn, "but it's worth every painstaking moment."

Court Electronic Taping System Knocked Out By Ceiling Tiles

Buyer Beware ~

If you employ human beings in the justice system, they cannot be knocked out by a few ceiling tiles and cause huge delays in bringing fairness and the right to speedy trials as outlined by the Constitution. Read what happened recently in Florida. It would be enough to make me want to find out who authorized the purchase of the equipment and also find the person responsible for maintaining the courthouse!!

~ the Beagle

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NewsHerald.com
Jury out on ceiling repairs
By David Angier
PANAMA CITY [Florida]

Another portion of the Bay County Courthouse ceiling fell Monday as clerks were moving back into a room that was vacated for about three months when the ceiling fell there. Plaster fell in a small room where the courthouse’s electronic recording equipment, known as CourtSmart, is stored. It knocked the system out of commission.

Clerk of Court Harold Bazzel said he did not yet know how badly the system was damaged, but feared it could be an expensive repair. “It’s an old building in need of service,” he said. “What the county needs to do is conduct a study on it to determine what needs to be done.”

At lunchtime on Nov. 26, two newly installed air conditioners crashed into the ceiling tiles of Room 111, with one woman in the room. A heavy air-conditioning unit held to a beam by a rod broke free of the beam. It pulled another unit down with it. The damage displaced 10 clerks and the room was unusable until Monday. “They worked through the weekend to get it ready,” Bazzel said.

Clerks returned to their desks, eyeing the clean new ceiling panels and identifying which seats were beneath the air conditioner units. Recent rains, some of which seeped into the building, likely caused the damage Monday. A leaky roof also is blamed for another failure in a corner of Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet’s office on the third floor. Bazzel said workers are grouting that side of the building to try to seal it from further seepage.

Bob Packman, county facilities maintenance manager, said Monday that the courthouse was inspected after the ceiling collapse in Room 111 and a few problems were identified.

He said over the next few years, county workers will be inspecting conduits and ductwork to make sure it is supported correctly. “We identified some areas of minor concern that we’ll be looking at,” he said. Room 111 was given a general renovation at the same time the ceiling was being repaired, but Packman didn’t have a total on the amount spent. He said it will probably be around $35,000.

The air conditioning company did much of the ceiling repair, even though no one knows why the units fell, Packman said. “The AC company did it out of the graciousness of their heart,” he said.

A Very Sad Day at the Allegheny County Courthouse

The court reporting profession lost a very talented person in Cheryl Wilds not only in her ability to make the legal justice system click in PA but with everyone she touched in her life!! We will miss you, Cheryl.

~ the Beagle

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Court reporter shot at North Side bus stop dies

By Jill King GreenwoodTRIBUNE-REVIEWFriday, February 29, 2008
Friends and co-workers called Cheryl Wilds the "Hines Ward" of the Allegheny County Courthouse.

Like the Steelers receiver, the longtime court reporter had an infectious laugh and quick smile for everyone, friends said, and could bring light to any situation.

"The world is a much darker place today since she died," said James Sheets, an attorney who knew Wilds for about seven years. "She was full of life and just to be in her presence made you happy. This is a tragedy of the worst kind."

Wilds, 47, a mother of three, died late Wednesday, more than three months after being shot near her North Side home. Police said they added a homicide charge against the teen already in custody in connection with the shooting of Wilds as she stepped off a Port Authority bus Nov. 21, Thanksgiving groceries in hand. Jayquan Massey, 18, was held for court following a December preliminary hearing on attempted homicide and other charges. He was awaiting arraignment on the new charge last night.

Police say Massey fired several shots that night at a sport utility vehicle on Bonvue Street in Wilds' Perry North neighborhood because several occupants of the SUV had been taunting him for days. One shot struck Wilds in the neck, police said, severing an artery.

Wilds' relatives said she had been improving since the shooting and was responding well to treatment after being transferred from Allegheny General Hospital to Shadyside Nursing Rehabilitation Center. Workers there found Wilds dead in her bed about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy.
Her family had just gathered at her side on Sunday, said her brother, Don Wilds, 53. Though she couldn't talk and remained paralyzed on her left side, she was in good spirits, he said.
"It's shocking to all of us because we were all looking forward to the day when we could bring her home," her brother said. "We don't know what to say. We loved her."
Family, including Wilds' sons, ages 25, 16 and 14, visited her regularly, said her sister-in-law, Carol Wilds. She could use her right hand to write notes to visitors and recognized relatives, Carol Wilds said.

"She was moving and responding and could shake her head yes or no," Carol Wilds said. "When we would get ready to leave, she'd get upset and start to cry and we'd have to calm her down. We're just devastated."

Neighbor Bill Schmidt said that he had visited Wilds at the nursing home Monday and she had recently returned from emergency treatment for a tracheotomy infection at UPMC Shadyside. She seemed to be improving and was moving her legs and arm and blowing kisses.
Schmidt's wife had told Wilds she was "going to come back to us, as smiling and as beautiful as ever."

"She looked at us and she nodded, 'No.' But I said she would be coming back, and I believed it," said Schmidt. "Cheryl Wilds was the backdrop to the entire neighborhood. If I close my eyes, I can see her now."

The youngest of four children, Wilds graduated from Wilkinsburg High School and went to Duff's Business Institute to learn court reporting, according to her brother. Courthouse colleagues said Wilds started to work for the county in 1994. Jo Lynne Ross, manager of the county's Office of Court Reporters, said Wilds' co-workers were having trouble believing that she had died.

"One of the attorneys said, 'I'll give you $50 to walk through the courthouse and if you find one person who says anything bad about Cheryl Wilds, you can keep the money,' " Ross said. "That sums up Cheryl's spirit perfectly. Everyone loved her."

For Want of a Tape ~ Court Reporters Needed

Here is another prime example of a recording system failure that cost the litigants time and money with the courthouse saving a few dollars by not employing a competent court reporter.

One has to wonder the wisdom of investing in mechanical equipment when investing in people in the courtroom is really a wiser investment. It is the Beagle's observation herein that a qualified "court reporter" would have saved the day again.

I can only hope that courthouses across the nation actually share this type of information so that other failures, mechanical or otherwise, can be avoided.

~ the Beagle

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Subject:

Good read, good lesson--this was on Courts Tech site

For Want of a Tape, a Case Was Lost
Judge orders mistrial when failure to record testimony leaves jury hung
By Henry Gottlieb New Jersey Law Journal November 2, 2007

A mistrial caused by a courtroom recording failure may have cost a
medical malpractice plaintiff in Essex County up to $560,000 of a
high-low settlement, and it is stirring calls for more stenographers
in New Jersey courts.

The incident also prompted administrators in Essex to order an
overhaul of the courts' entire stock of aging tape machines ? the
audio version of used cars from the early 1990s.

Judge Verna Leath declared the mistrial on Sept. 26 after she was
unable to meet the jury's request for a playback of crucial testimony
during a six-day trial. Without the testimony, the jury declared it was deadlocked.

Leath did not know at the time that the lawyers went to trial with a
high-low agreement to cap any verdict at $800,000, but give the
plaintiff at least $240,000 in case of a verdict below that, a no
cause, or a hung jury.

So Leath's grant of a mistrial didn't give the plaintiff's lawyer
another chance to try the case. A strict reading of the high-low
agreement requires the plaintiff to take the $240,000 minimum.

"Who could have anticipated something so strange," says plaintiff's
lawyer Larry Leifer of Maplewood. He wrote to Chief Justice Stuart
Rabner to complain, and his client says an award dictated by a
reporting glitch is a travesty of justice.

Last week, Leifer asked the trial judge to set aside the high-low
agreement and order a retrial on grounds the pact did not contemplate
a mistrial due to technical error.

"This was not a hung jury, this was a mistrial due to a loose plug,"
he says in a motion returnable Nov. 16.

Defense lawyer David Weeks of Ruprecht Hart & Weeks in Millburn wants
the agreement enforced.

Parties who make high-low deals know that no matter what a judge or
jury rules, there will be no right of appeal or post-trial motions, Weeks says.

"Sure it's unusual, but it's no different than the many things we all
agree to waive so that there is finality," he says. "The bottom line
of these things is that when it's over it's over."

In Branham v. Raina, Esx-L-744-05, Justine Branham is suing as the
executrix of the estate of her sister, Annabelle Jones, who died of
breast cancer in 2006.

The plaintiff's evidence at the trial said defendant Suresh Raina, a
doctor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry-New Jersey,
misdiagnosed a mass in Jones' breast in 2002 and failed to order a
biopsy, causing the cancer to flourish and, ultimately, Jones' death.

The defense countered that Raina met the standards for care and that
even if she had ordered more tests the outcome would have been the same.

Leifer says he thought he had a good case, but he also says there was
good expert evidence on the other side. So the day the trial started on Sept.
17, Weeks wrote the high-low agreement in longhand and he and Leifer
signed it.

"As is standard in such agreements, the net verdict governs and any
verdict of $240,000 or less (including a judgment of no cause for
action or other dismissal) or a mistrial due to a hung jury will
result in the defendant paying $240,000," the agreement says.

The judge wasn't told. Weeks says that's common because lawyers don't
want judges to be influenced by the fact that their rulings are not
going to be subject to appeal.

About two hours after the jury began deliberating, it requested a
playback of the cross-examination of a defense expert. But when a
clerk played the tape it was inaudible. Leath declared a mistrial.

Leifer argues in his motion that the phrase "mistrial due to a hung jury"
is inapplicable because the mistrial was due to audio failure. And if
the phrase is ambiguous it should be construed against the defense
because Weeks was the scrivener.

"There was no meeting of the minds and no contemplation by the parties
to the events which befell the parties to this litigation, in terms of
a 'loose plug,'" he says.

Weeks says the phrase "mistrial due to a hung jury" is designed for
the protection of the plaintiff and insures against a defense lawyer
engineering a mistrial through mischief.

What caused the jury to fail to reach a verdict doesn't matter, Weeks
says. "They said they couldn't reach a verdict and that's a hung jury."

He says he has made eight or 10 high-low agreements in the 100 or so
cases he has tried and that these pacts, whether written or oral and
regardless of clauses, contain an irrevocable assumption.

"It is final, it is over, no matter what happens," he says. "When this
is over it's done and you're going to get one of the numbers, whether
it's the high the low or the one that falls in the middle."

Paul Piantino III of White and Williams in Paramus, who represents
defendants and plaintiffs and has made high-low agreements, says it's
hard to imagine a repeat of what happened in the Essex case.

He says the only problem he has encountered results from failure of
the lawyers to be specific about prejudgment interest. Plaintiffs who
come out on the low end will sometimes argue that they also are
entitled to prejudgment interest, as long as it doesn't take the final
payment above the high figure.

Dated Equipment Still in Use

The day of the mishap in Leath's court, a technician declared that a
loose plug was responsible, but court officials are now blaming a part
in the recorder and it remains unclear whether human error was responsible, too.

"These machines we are using now are very, very old and are no longer
in production," Essex Trial Court Administrator Collins Ijoma says of
the 15-year-old Sony BM246 recorders in use in Leath's court and most
other tribunals in New Jersey. "They were the Cadillac of systems for
many years, but now we are in a digital age."

He says all the indicators on the machine showed that sound was coming
in during the trial before Leath and he says the operator took all the
required precautions. The final investigation showed that a spindle
wasn't working so the tape wasn't moving, he says.

So he ordered the replacement of all the spindles on at least 30 tape
machines. "We have not experienced it in the past, but obviously this
can happen again," he says.

Under the system now in use, an operator monitors the machine to make
sure it is running and listens with earphones to a delayed play of the
recorded version of the tape, to ensure that the voices are registering.

But if the operator was listening, why didn't he know nothing was
registering?

"It's not possible," says Thomas Graziano, whose company, Gramco
Business Communications in Clifton, is doing the repair work on the
Essex recorders. He doesn't know what happened to the monitoring in
Leath's court, but he says, in general, "We go through this every day
in the Superior Court and municipal court. They rarely use the monitor."

Essex County is currently discarding tape for digital recording that
will send sound directly to a central disc system, with a backup for
each individual court.

But Graziano says, "They'll have their troubles with that, too.
Whether it's tape or digital, nothing is 100 percent."

Leifer says what happened to him proves that stenographers, not
electronics, should be used for any trial with significant money at
stake, perhaps all medical malpractice trials.

Amos Gern, president of the New Jersey chapter of the Association of
Trial Lawyers of America, says he agrees.

"What happened in this case is an indictment of the New Jersey court
system and its inadequacies," says Gern, of Starr, Gern, Davison &
Rubin in Roseland.

Jeffrey Newman, who heads the state courts' reporting services branch,
says technical glitches like the one in Essex are unfortunate, but
rare, and that the court is trying to increase the number of stenographers.

But they are hard to recruit, he says. Out of about 70 slots, 16 are
vacant, he says, and the first priority is to use them for criminal cases.

Rick Paone, president of the Certified Court Reporters Association-New
Jersey, says, however, the courts caused the shortage of reporters by
replacing them in the early 1990s. The problem now is that freelance
work is more lucrative than court work, which drives reporters out of
the state system, he says.

Plaintiff Branham, a Newark police officer, says she wishes there had
been a shorthand reporter in the courtroom.

She says she was upset that Leath insisted the problem wasn't anyone's
fault. "We were prepared to hear a verdict from a jury, not 'oh, well
we're going to give you a mistrial because our equipment wasn't working.'"

"You would think someone would check the equipment, because everything
we went through was in vain," she says.

Murder Conviction Overturned - Stolen Tapes

What can happen to a trial that is tape recorded? Here is an example of a system gone bad and seemingly it's only going to get worse.

The majority of our everyday tax paying people of this country are probably not aware of the changes taking place inside courtrooms as the audio/video companies who manufacture products for installation into courtrooms and cut cozy deals with court administrators.

What we need rather than ineffective video cameras or audio recording equipment are people to populate our courtrooms, a judge, a bailiff, a clerk, and a "qualified court reporter." Although it is unclear, it would seem in this instance the court reporter was an "audio" court reporter.

~ The Beagle

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Friday, February 29, 2008
Detroit
Murder conviction overturned after trial tape theft
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- The Michigan Court of Appeals has overturned a murder conviction because the trial transcript of the convicted killer, Elroy Lucky Jones, was reported stolen from a court reporter's car in Detroit.

The appeals court also ordered a review of the court reporting license of Glenda J. Merritt, whose car was reportedly burglarized, and her "character and fitness as a court reporter."

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office had no immediate comment Thursday on the order issued Wednesday that Jones -- sentenced to life in prison in January in connection with a 2006 Detroit murder -- get a new trial.

Craig Tank, a Macomb Township lawyer representing the 28-year-old Jones, said he will seek bond for his client. "It's certainly an extraordinary situation," Tank said Thursday. "I'm really not cognizant of many other cases like it."

Merritt told Detroit police last March that her briefcase containing tapes from the Jones trial and other cases was stolen from her vehicle while the auto was parked outside a drugstore at East Jefferson and Walker. "I don't care to talk about it," Merritt said Thursday before hanging up the phone.

At the time of the theft, Tank was planning to appeal the Jones case, which was handled by Wayne Circuit Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway. The loss of the transcripts made the appeal impossible.

Prosecutors said at the time of the theft that up to four cases could be affected by the missing tapes. It wasn't clear Thursday whether any other convictions had been overturned.

Jones' mother, Beverly Jones, said Jones' father named him Lucky after the notorious gangster Charles "Lucky" Luciano. "He liked watching gangster movies," she said of Jones' father.

At the time of the theft, court officials said that they were investigating whether Merritt violated the court's rules regarding the number of tapes she was transporting at one time.

You can reach Paul Egan at (313) 222-2069 or pegan@detnews.com.

Reporter Ken Gangler Retires - Congratulations from the Beagle!!

The Beagle would like to share the following article written by Tom Gilchrist about a court reporter who is retiring after 39 years of service!! Congratulations, Ken, on a job well done.

I am sure that you will be missed by all of those you have freely shared your knowledge and wisdom.

~ The Beagle

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Tuscola County court reporter makes his exit after a 39-year career
Saturday, March 01, 2008

By Tom Gilchristtgilchrist@bc-times.com 894-9649
CARO - Kenneth A. Gangler may be a vanishing breed, but the documents he produced as Tuscola County's court reporter should last for a while.

''They're permanent - they'll last until the paper falls apart,'' said Gangler, 65, of Unionville, who retired Friday after a career spanning five decades in Tuscola County Circuit Court.
As he cleans out his office, Gangler is boxing up hundreds of pads of used stenotype - the official records of thousands of court proceedings he has documented as the county circuit court reporter.

Then-Gov. William Milliken appointed Gangler to the job in 1969. Since then, Gangler has been a fixture in the venerable courtroom, typing on his American-made shorthand machine behind a wooden desk he said ''came with the courthouse (when it opened) in 1932.''
Gangler, a Tuscola County native, said he knows ''a good portion'' of the parties who come to court. He said run-ins with the law seem to run in some families.
''There are times when we handled the grandpa, the dad and now we're working on the kids coming through our criminal justice system,'' Gangler said. ''You ask me 'How long have you been here?' ''Well, long enough to deal with three generations.''

Gangler admits there are days when he chuckles at what transpires before him. His job, however, is serious business. The stenotype pads he has placed in boxes will end up in a heated, locked storage building where the county will keep them for 15 years. ''I wrote the transcripts for a couple cases that ended up at the U.S. Supreme Court,'' Gangler said. ''They left here and were appealed, and made it to the ultimate end of the judicial chain.''

Caro lawyer Amy Grace Gierhart, 38, said she and county Prosecutor Mark E. Reene sometimes race to Gangler's office following a court matter to get Gangler's take on the proceeding.
''I bounce stuff off him,'' Gierhart said. ''I'll say 'What do you think about this?' and he'll say 'Oooh, I don't like that.'''
Gangler, in fact, is an honorary member of the Tuscola County Bar Association - the only non-lawyer in the group.

''He's probably the best attorney in Tuscola County, and he's not an attorney,'' Gierhart said. ''He probably has more courtroom experience than any lawyers.'' Gangler has worked in the courtroom with former Tuscola County circuit judges James P. Churchill, Norman A. Baguley and Martin E. Clements.

For 29 years, though, Gangler has worked for Circuit Judge Patrick R. Joslyn, known for his colorful language, spats with Tuscola County commissioners and apathy toward state legislators' sentencing guidelines.

In 2001, Joslyn sent police to a cafe near the Tuscola County Courthouse to round up prospective jurors after 10 county residents failed to show up for jury duty.
''(Joslyn) makes the work entertaining,'' Gangler said. ''When you consider some of the messes people get themselves in, it's just mindboggling.''

Advances in technology test a court reporter's mind. ''It's like going to school every day, with the expert witnesses, the doctors, and the lab analysis,'' Gangler said. ''The DNA evidence came along and there are a whole bunch of terms coming into court along with it.''
Technology ''is causing the court reporter to become a dying breed,'' Judge Joslyn said.

A medical-malpractice case, for example, requires a court reporter to have learned scientific terms in college. ''A lot of courts today don't have a stenographer any more,'' Joslyn said. ''They have a 'recorder,' which is someone with a high-school education who has taken a test and knows how to punch a button, and knows how to type. ''That's a hell of a lot different than a court stenographer who not only can repeat what I said, but when he certifies it, ensures the transcript will be accurate.''

Tuscola County Circuit Court officials will use substitute court reporters until the county hires a successor to Gangler. Joslyn described Gangler as ''a hard-working, very conscientious, very dedicated public servant'' who frequently came to work 30 to 45 minutes early.
In April 1969, Gangler began writing numbers, in a notebook, that correspond with stenotype pads containing records of proceedings he documented as Tuscola County Circuit Court reporter.
He still has the notebook, and said he has numbered about 5,250 stenotype pads - each referring to a day of court proceedings, or a multi-day trial, or other court event.
That may seem prolific for a man who might have kept working on the assembly line at a Buick Motor Co. plant in Flint, were it not for his older brother.

Donald ''Buff'' Gangler, also of Unionville and also a court reporter, had Kenneth Gangler all set up when the younger brother returned home from the U.S. Navy in 1962. ''I returned home one day from the Navy, and the next morning I reported to classes at the Northeastern School of Commerce on Madison Avenue in Bay City,'' Kenneth Gangler said.

After a year of college, Kenneth Gangler said he gave up on court reporting to work at the Buick plant. Eventually, he would quit that job to work at Bay City's Defoe Shipbuilding Co. and start attending court-reporting night classes at Saginaw Business Institute. Donald Gangler ''found a school for me again,'' Kenneth Gangler said. ''My brother was really the motivating factor in my career,'' he said.

New: Court reporting students earn high ranking - NEWS

New: Court reporting students earn high ranking - NEWS

Court Reporters Needed

The Beagle points out another failed "recorded" court proceeding. I would like to thank Mr. Vogrin for his article. The Beagle advocates having people populate our judicial system rather than machines. In the scenario outlined below, by employing a "live" court reporter, it more likely than not would have resulted in an accurate record of proceedings rather than the failure to be able to produce a transcript.

The Beagle supports all efforts to provide educational funding to provide more live court reporters who also can provide captioning for television and computer-aided realtime for the hearing impaired on our college campuses.

I have heard people refer to "court reporters" as the Cadillac of recordkeeping but I would simply think it the "necessary" means to keep our justice system from developing into a morass of messy inaudible recordings.

Thank you for reading ~ The Beagle

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Colorado Springs Gazette ~ Town bully of Manitou may get another day in court
By BILL VOGRIN
THE GAZETTE
January 28, 2008

Some community fights go on and on, even when they appear to be over. One of the most bitter in the area, a 10-year battle between Manitou Springs and Stephen Beisel, looks poised to re-erupt after 16 months of calm.

It quieted down after a jury convicted Beisel of misdemeanor assault and harassment for allegedly shoving, slugging and throwing down Manitou City Councilman Marc Snyder in August 2005. El Paso County Judge Sylvia Manzanares gave Beisel 30 days in jail and probation. Manitou officials celebrated, describing Beisel as a “town bully” who had harassed and intimidated the City Council and everyone at City Hall during a decade-long dispute with the community.

But now Beisel’s conviction is in question and may be overturned. District Attorney John Newsome has submitted a rare “confession of reversible error” to Judge Rebecca Bromley, who is hearing Beisel’s appeal. Seems Manzanares, who retired last May, failed to properly advise Beisel of his right to an attorney before the trial began — called an Arguello advisement.

It’s similar to the “Miranda warning” made by police during every arrest, advising people of their rights. “Upon a review of the record, the district attorney agrees that there is no evidence that the trial judge properly advised the defendant of his right,” Newsome said in a brief prepared by deputy prosecutors Deborah Pearson and Doyle Baker. “It is extremely rare for the prosecution to concede reversible error in a criminal case,” said Beisel’s Castle Rock attorney, Anne Gill. She said Newsome’s office fessed up after she and Baker spent hours listening to audio of the trial.

Not only was there no Arguello advisement, but much of the recording was inaudible, making it hard to write an appeal. Even worse, Gill said, the court had lost all the evidence presented during the two-day trial — further grounds for vacating the conviction. “I found none of the exhibits,” she said, listing missing photos, medical bills, police reports, witness statements. Gill said she would “never try to predict” Bromley’s response.

But a prosecutor’s confession of reversible error is solid grounds for a new trial. “I think we have a good shot at a new trial,” she said. And if Beisel gets another shot, don’t expect him to plea bargain the charges away. “Mr. Beisel does maintain his innocence and feels quite strongly about that,” Gill said. “He believes he’d be completely vindicated if he went through another trial.” Newsome’s spokeswoman Denise Minish described the confession as the “responsible thing to do.” “The best thing to do is get the case back where it belongs and set for retrial,” she said. A decade ago, Beisel angered Manitou officials by trying to develop 70 acres he owns on Sheep Mountain, adjacent to the town’s southern border.

The town blocked him, Beisel says illegally, saying his plans would ruin the town’s scenic mountain backdrop. Beisel responded by blocking a trail across his land and citing trespassers. He says the spat with Snyder was the result of trespassing, which Snyder denies. Here we go again.