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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.

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.

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.