The Importance Of A Video Deposition In A Car Collision Injury Case

/in /by

What is a Deposition?

Depositions are one of the basics of injury litigation.  A deposition is basically a series of questions an attorney asks the other side’s witnesses to answer under oath.  The question and answer are transcribed by a court reporter.  The questions can be wide-ranging and cover all sorts of ground because the only limitation is that they must be “reasonably calculated” to lead evidence that is admissible at trial. Your answers count as sworn testimony just like you are in a courtroom.

Depositions commonly take place at an attorney’s office or at a court reporter’s office.  Even though the witness is sworn to tell the truth there will be no judge present for the deposition.

The fact that no judge is there means that you even have to answer questions to which your own attorney objects.  But, before the jury would hear that testimony at trial, the judge would have to overrule the objection raised.

What is a Video Deposition?

Just like any other deposition a video deposition is transcribed word for word by a court reporter.  Everything is the exact same as at a deposition that is not videotaped. Except, there is a video operator there and you, or the witness on the other side, get video and audio recorded while answering questions.

The big difference is that in a non-video deposition a person’s demeanor and mannerisms, their non-verbal communications to use another term, are not available for the jury.  In contrast, in a video deposition everything the witnesses does is recorded for the jury to see.   This can include hand gestures, facial expressions, physical tics and the like.  Importantly is can also give clues to whether the witness is telling the truth or not.

Both the injured plaintiff and the defendant driver are often deposed using a video deposition in car crash cases. Many plaintiffs’ lawyers agree that the defendant driver is often far less well prepared for the process of questioning at the deposition and their honest selves will shine through.

Because the video testimony of an opposing party can be shown to the jury, getting that honest snapshot of the defendant can really help “make your case.

Capturing the true defendant is a primary reason for a personal injury attorney to choose to take a video deposition.  For the defense attorney, a video deposition can help with the basic reasons that they are taking your deposition in the first place.  Those reasons are:

  1. Locking in your story. The other lawyer wants to be sure that they know what you will day at trial.  So they want to lock down your story and eliminate wiggle room, It is harder to lie and conceal when in video camera particularly in response to follow-up questions
  2. Evaluating your answers and effectiveness as a witness at trial. The lawyer (and the insurance company and adjuster with which the lawyer is working) want to know “how you will be” as a witness at trial. Answers to questions such as will the jury like you? Do you come across as honest?

In the end, a video deposition is a more powerful tool to use against the opposing party than a mere transcript.  You need to be sure your lawyer spends the time to prepare you to shine for your deposition in your injury case.

Thanks to our friend and blog author, Kurt Holzer of Holzer Edwards Chartered, for his insight into the importance of video depositions in a car accident case.

5 Key Questions to Ask in a Divorce Deposition

/in /by

Many divorce lawyers conduct depositions of opposing parties to discover important information prior to trial.  A deposition is a sworn statement taken out-of-court before a court reporter.  If desired, a transcript of the testimony can be prepared and used later at the trial to impeach or discredit the opposing party if their statements vary from the time they originally gave the deposition.

Any contested divorce may present one, or two, and sometimes 3, major points of contention, such as child custody and support, spousal support or what is known as maintenance, and division of marital assets.  A deposition is an excellent opportunity to obtain a preview of what to expect from the opposing party before the case makes it to trial.

Good divorce lawyers worth their salt will take advantage of scheduling a deposition of the opposing party for these very reasons.  Depending on what major contentions are included in a divorce, there are 5 key questions to ask in a divorce deposition.  A brief description of each of these key questions follows.

1. Parenting Skills?

If a divorce action involves contested custody of minor children, one key question to ask of the opposing party is to describe what good parenting skills my client possesses.  This often takes the opposing party off-guard; why, they may wonder am I asking them to say something nice about my client?  This is, after all, a divorce.  Keep in mind, that at a deposition of the opposing party, my client has the right to be present, and normally is, sitting right next to me.  This makes it even harder for the opposing party to say something unpleasant when my client is sitting directly across from them at the table.  You’d be surprised at how often the other party says nice things about my client.  Once these answers are given however, they become part of the recorded transcript and can be brought up at the trial when the issue of who is the better parent is determined.

2. Support System?

A second key question to ask when child custody is involved in a divorce is to inquire about the support group the opposing party has available locally to assist with care and maintenance of the children.  When married, the parties had each other to step in if a need arose.  Maybe one of the children gets sick at school and needs a ride home or to the babysitter.  In the absence of the now departed spouse, who can the opposing party rely on to fill this role.  The larger the support group, the better.

3. Non-Marital Property?

If martial property division is a major issue, most divorce lawyers consider a third key question essential to their case.  That is: what does the opposing party believe to be his or her non-marital property.  Normally, divorce estates are divided 50/50 with half the total amount of property going to each party.  Non-marital property, such as an inheritance received before or during the marriage remains the separate property of the party who can prove that it came from a non-marital source.  Therefore, it is important to ask the opposing party if he or she believes certain property is non-marital, and if so, to list what proof they have to establish it as non-marital.

4. Timeline?

A fourth key question divorce lawyers ask related to property issues is when does the opposing party consider the marriage to have broken down, and whether they wasted or misapplied marital assets knowing that the marriage was more than likely to end in divorce.  This concept is known as dissipation.  Dissipation is the wasting or misapplication of marital assets that occurs at or soon after the virtual breakdown of the marriage.  If it can be proved that the opposing party dissipated assets at this relevant time, he or she will be required to reimburse the marital estate for the value of the property that was misappropriated.

5. Finance Discrepancy?

A fifth and final key question related to payment of child support or spousal maintenance (what used to be called alimony) can be asked of an opposing party who is self-employed, or who is part owner of a small corporation, sometimes closely, or entirely family owned.  Prior to the deposition, I will have reviewed the opposing party’s tax returns, paychecks, and bank and investment accounts.  If the opposing party is living high off the hog while reporting meager income on tax returns, I ask them how are they able to square the discrepancy between the two.

In high dollar cases, I may even employ a forensic accountant to audit the source of the opposing party’s income, as well as how and where it is spent.  Even though parties to a divorce are required to disclose under oath the amount and whereabouts of assets acquired during the marriage, good divorce lawyers know that people will go to great lengths to keep their soon to be divorced spouse from sharing in the wealth that was created during the marriage.  If an opposing party is not able to explain why there is a substantial discrepancy between their life style and their reported income, further exploration into their financials is required.

___________________________________________

A special thanks to our friend and blog author, Edgar Weer of Smith & Weer, P.C., for his insight into taking a strong deposition during a divorce case.

A Good Court Reporting Relationship Is Critical to a Law Practice

/in /by

Legal practices today rely heavily on having a quality relationship with a reliable and dedicated court reporting service. Court reporters are not just quiet stenographers on the sidelines anymore. They now have the ability to hugely impact the outcome of case, whether it is won or lost. Just as important, the relationship a personal injury law firm has with its court reporting service can benefit the firm’s clients. When building relationships with one or more court reporting services, it is very important that each relationship is founded in integrity, mutual respect and a mutual sense of ownership over client outcome.

All parties must understand that the court reporting service relationship must be at its best. To build that relationship, a law firm should work with a court reporting service that understands the following points:

Transcripts hold the power to make or break a case.
During a deposition, attorneys are tuned into specific points and objectives that must be covered during the limited time period with the deposed individual. In the process, the deposed party may say things that are missed or skipped over at the time of the deposition. These things may be discovered in the transcript when that document is being reviewed by the legal team at a later time. Because lawyers are human and may miss small details at first, it is critical that all of the details are captured in the court reporter’s transcriptions.

Travel to witnesses may be required.
Travel restrictions placed upon court reporters by their service will make some cases more difficult to navigate, as not all witnesses are local to the law office. It is important that the court reporting relationship specifies how out-of-town, interstate and international travel will be handled and that the service is included in the court reporting relationship.

Translation services may be needed upon short notice.
A quality court reporting service will have the ability to provide translation services when the witnesses and clients are not as comfortable conveying their points in English. Language cannot be the barrier hindering the outcome of a case.

Lawyers cannot rely upon court provision of a court reporter anymore.
Courts no longer provide reporters for each and every case. Quite often, court reporters are contracted by parties in the case and not the court, itself. A local court reporting service will know that there may be times that their law firm client needs their reliability in the court during hearings.

Knowledge and use of emerging technologies can be important.
Basic transcription is not the only service provided by quality court reporting services today. Video, audio and other technologies allow for consultation among case parties without everyone being in the same room. Such consultations can make or break a case, making important information, document reviews and other activities possible across multiple geographies. Because of regulations regarding secure transmission of personal information, the court reporting service must understand associated regulations and provide these services accordingly.

Maintaining the Quality Court Reporting Relationship

Maintaining a quality relationship with a court reporting service comes down to mutual respect among the parties. Our respect of court reporters is based in understanding of the valuable service they provide. We understand:

  • Sometimes court reporters must work long hours with few breaks and they often do so with a genuine desire to meet client needs;
  • When attorneys are hard at work on a case, there are many things they must focus upon and court reporters enable that focus with diligent service that protects and captures records critical to the case;
  • Using the equipment court reporters use is not as easy as it looks, these services at times being taxing on the court reporter’s mind and body while they must keep up with live interactions of high importance with accuracy;

To ensure we maintain the best possible relationship with our court reporting services, we work to adhere to the following guidelines of this mutually respectful relationship:

  • We try to communicate as fully as possible with the court reporting services regarding our needs in advance, such as for real time transcripts, expedited work or rough drafts;
  • We are as courteous to our court reporters as we are to any other key member of our staff, always knowing we must forge a quality relationship before it may be at its best;
  • We speak as clearly and succinctly as we can, reading other documents with the knowledge that these readings must be captured accurately and allowing the court reporters adequate time to note exhibits;
  • We understand the court reporter is consistently performing focused mental and physical work that often involves translation of accents and adjustment to varied patterns of speech while others in the room may be merely listening or speaking, with our attorneys thus providing consistent breaks for court reporters to rest, regain strength and ready for continued deposition or other activities;
  • We work to consider our court reporters’ personal needs before making decisions to abstain from meals or skip breaks;
  • We understand that court reporters schedule their personal lives around work hours and that if we are going to run later than expected, we need to coordinate this with our court reporters along with other affected parties;
  • We appreciate the service court reporters provide for us and we always strive to be grateful and courteous in our appreciation of their long hours and hard work.

The staff of Cantor Crane injury lawyers understands the importance of the relationship we have with our court reporting services. We use services we trust and this trust enables us to focus on the details of your case, not whether all details were accurately captured.

__________________________________________________

Special thanks to our friend Aaron Crane, of Cantor Crane Personal Injury Firm, for providing some insight into the benefits of building a lasting relationship between law firms and court reporting companies.