Author: gr-admin

A few weeks ago, the entire country watched in horror as Baltimore was torn apart at the seams after yet another controversial confrontation between police officers and a suspect.  Another death occurred that enraged those in the local community, and the outrage spread far and wide.  Sadly, we have seen these unfortunate situations play out several times over the past year, from Ferguson, Missouri to New York City to Baltimore.  Regardless of how anyone feels about these situations, the bottom line is that people have lost their livelihoods, their freedom and in some cases their lives.

After suspect Freddie Gray was killed somehow while he was in the custody of police and the riots in protest broke out, six members of the police force in Baltimore were charged with crimes of varying degrees of severity.  The most serious charge faced by an officer is for second-degree murder.  Clearly, there is a lot at stake with this process.  Not only are the police officers accused of serious crimes that could carry significant penalties, but the eyes of the community and the rest of the country will be on this situation as it moves forward.

Defendants File Motion

Prior to testimony being given to the grand jury in furtherance of the case, the defendants have filed a motion with the court.  That motion requests that the court appoint a court reporter to transcribe the proceedings.  This transcript, according to the motion, should include the testimony given by witnesses as well as any comments and instructions given by the prosecuting attorney.  If a court reporter is not approved for the grand jury, the defendants have requested that the proceeding be recorded electronically.

The reason for this motion, as stated in the document, is the allegation by the defense that investigators misidentified certain facts and applicable law.  As such, a transcript of the grand jury proceeding should be available so that those investigators can be properly cross-examined when or if that time comes.  In essence, the motion calls for a protection of due process.  The court has not yet ruled on the motion, but a decision is expected soon.

Court Reporters and the Integrity of the Record

This is clearly another example where the assistance of court reporters is seen as invaluable.  Court reporters may not be noticeable to many who are paying attention to legal proceedings, as they tend to sit in relative silence and type what is being said.  There have been countless instances in the past where decisions in cases have been influenced by examining the existing records of those cases.  This could be another one of those situations.

Whatever the decision on this motion, the court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC, hope that this case comes to a just and fair end at some point soon so that those who have been affected by this terrible situation can find some sort of closure.

Want to review depositions from your iPad?  Now you can easily import depositions using EGCR’s DepoView app and review or make clips while away from the office.

Designed for use on any generation of iPad, DepoView for iPad makes working with depositions a snap with some of these easy-to-use features:

• Create and manage multiple case folders
• Import Timecoder^™Pro transcript and video deposition files through iTunes^®
• Easily navigate depositions by page, by keyword search or by tapping on any portion of the transcript
• Read associated transcript text as it scrolls with your video playback
• Create single or multi-segment clips with an easy-to-use highlighter

DepoView-for-iPad-User-Manual

Tens of thousands of lawsuits are filed in Georgia every year that are initiated in what most would consider rural areas.  Those of us who have
worked in rural courthouses have come to appreciate some of the advantages of these settings.  For instance, it’s easy to get to know people and in many cases things can get done more quickly.  However, there are also some inherent disadvantages to filing a lawsuit in a rural area, particularly with relation to depositions.  Below are five of those disadvantages and then a description of how the Georgia court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC, have taken steps to minimize them.

1.  Costs

The most obvious disadvantage for many people involved in rural cases is cost.  Costs that are associated with travel, lodging, food and the like can add up quickly if a litigator, his or her staff and any witnesses need to travel somewhere for depositions.

2.  Logistics

Depending on where a case is filed, the actual logistics of getting there can be very difficult.  Plans have to be made not only for the attorneys, but for everyone else who will be involved in a case.  Depositions can take quite some time, so that needs to be accounted for as well.

3.  Travel Risks

Traveling always involves some sort of risk.  Car accident rates on rural roads are much higher than people would expect, and in Georgia statistics reveal that there are more accident fatalities on rural roads than there are in urban centers.

4.  Witnesses

Witnesses to a case have lives of their own, and many of them will be reluctant to take time away in order to testify in a deposition.  This is especially so when they need to travel to a faraway place and their return date is difficult to determine ahead of time.

5.  Resources

Finally, resources can be more difficult to come by when a case is proceeding in a rural area.  Specialized attorneys can be harder to find and Georgia court reporters may not always be readily available in that local area.

How Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC, is Helping

The court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting, LLC, have experience with handling depositions in rural cases, and that’s why we’ve incorporated an offering into our service that makes handling these matters much easier than it has been.  Our firm has launched our Web-Enabled Remote Depo Pilot Program.  This will allow people to all but eliminate their costs and risks associated with travel and minimize any logistics management headaches that can arise.  You can use our facility to appear via the web and we will handle the setup for everyone else who is involved.  You’ll have our transcripts ready in a short amount of time and within 24 hours we can provide you with raw video footage of the proceeding.

If you have every hesitated to take on a rural case, now is the time to change that thinking.  If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you, contact the Georgia court reporters at Elizabeth Gallo, LLC, today for prompt answers to your questions.

Frustrated by limited reporter availability and long turnaround when taking depos in rural areas?  So are we.