Thomas & Thomas Court Reporters - Court Reporters, Remote Depositions, Trial Presentation Services

This year, Thomas & Thomas Court Reporters was fortunate enough to realtime the Nebraska State Bar Association's ("NSBA") Practical Ethics CLE at the Annual Meeting on October 9th.  There were 300 attorneys from various areas of law practice in attendance, and the second hour consisted of a Q&A session with the 2014 Nebraska Attorney General candidates, Doug Peterson and Janet Stewart.  The Practical Ethics CLE was one of many CLEs held during the 3-day event at the Embassy Suites in La Vista, Nebraska.  

After the CLE, several attorneys came up to our booth and asked where they could find the dictation software we used.  Needless to say, they were impressed to learn that it was not software, but one of our Certified Realtime Reporters ("CRR") creating the text.

"Realtime" is the general term for transcription by court reporters using real-time technologies to deliver computer text screens within a few seconds of the words being spoken.  Think of realtime as closed captioning for attorneys.

Geoff Thomas, head of business and technology development at Thomas & Thomas Court Reporters, was spotted at The Omaha Bar Association's Annual Wine & Cheese Event at Brix Village Point.  Geoff was one of almost 300 lawyers, judges, law students, and their significant others who attended the February 21, 2014 event.  The event featured a variety of red and white wines, with knowledgeable servers explaining the subtleties of each.  Not only was the event a social success, but it was also a philanthropic success when the Omaha Bar Association presented Lynda Henningsen, publisher of The Daily Record, with a donation to Legal Aid of Nebraska.

Excerpt:

LAWYERS of the Criminal Bar Association intend to take legal action against Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson for the removal of stenographers from the Magistrate's Court.

This action comes nearly a month after calling a press conference to protest the removal of court reporters, leaving it to magistrates to take handwritten notes until digital recording comes on stream later this year.

Lawyers gathered yesterday at the steps of the Nassau and South Streets court complex, and indicated that they are taking the issue to the Supreme Court.

"Since then (February 14), there has been some discussion with the stakeholders and decision makers," lawyer Murrio Ducille told the media.

"The AG suggested that we may choose to bring our court reporter, but the problem is our court reporter's record would assist us, but it's not the official record of the proceedings in the trial, the magistrate's notes are," he added.

"Matters are being adjourned, but some magistrates are proceeding with trials despite the reasoned objections by defence counsel on instructions from their clients. This has created some disquiet among some magistrates who see our assertion of our client's right to a fair trial as a hindrance in what they are required to do... to make an accurate recording of the evidence and legal arguments in the proceeding... no more, no less."

"It is a no-brainer that one cannot record accurately or at all anything relevant and important if one does not write what is said as part of the trial process. As one client puts it, 'the magistrates do not go to jail, I do. I need to have my case properly recorded if I am convicted and have to appeal'."

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Article by Lamech Johnson of the Tribune Staff Reporter