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by Karen Friend The Defendant’s attorney looks out from the kitchen and sees that I am still taking testimony. I say, “Everyone must agree to go off the record. I cannot go off the record unless everyone agrees.” Plaintiff’s attorney continues questioning, and the Defendant’s attorney comes straight at me from the kitchen in a rage, and she is headed toward the lid of my notebook computer, determined to slam it shut and stop me from reporting. I say, “Please, don’t. No, no, no.” Frustrated that she has not knocked my computer over and has not stopped the Plaintiff’s attorney from continuing to ask questions, she grabs the Plaintiff’s attorney’s entire file and runs with it down the hall of her home (which is stone, not carpet). The Plaintiff’s attorney jumps up to chase her, reaches around her to grab the file back, and both end up on the floor. Think it’s over? Not quite. The Plaintiff’s attorney comes back to the dining room table and starts asking questions, continuing to instruct me at all times that he does not agree to go off the record. The Defendant’s attorney goes to call the police while the witness agrees to answer any question the Plaintiff’s attorney has (and of course the Defendant’s attorney is not in the room to hear this exchange). The Defendant’s attorney emerges from the kitchen, sees me still writing, and announces the police are coming, and still telling me to go off the record. The Plaintiff’s attorney decides to leave, but the Defendant’s attorney (bad shoulder and all) tries to physically prevent an exit through the front door, so the Plaintiff’s attorney bolts through the house and exits the back door. Think it’s over? Not quite. The Defendant’s attorney runs out the front door to stop the Plaintiff’s car from leaving. I keep my back to the front window (still sitting professionally at my machine!) and I hear squealing tires. With that, I turn my machine off because I am alone in the house and assume the Plaintiff’s attorney has left, and he was the one that objected to going off the record. The closing parenthetical to my transcript was: (The deposition was concluded by virtue of the fact the court reporter is the only one left in the house.) or something close to that. Immediately there are false imprisonment charges from the Plaintiff’s attorney because the Defendant’s attorney tried to stop him from leaving until the police came, and assault accusations from the Defendant’s attorney (for the scuffle in the hall over the file and outside the house where Defendant’s attorney jumped in front of and on the Plaintiff’s attorney’s car when he tried to leave). Pretty serious stuff. Now, of course the first thing everyone wants is an immediate transcript to send to the police, the Texas State Bar and the trial judge. In this instance the verbatim record alone will not accurately reflect the proceedings, so parentheticals are necessary, especially to explain the part where the court reporter is saying, “Please, don’t. No, no, no.” So parentheticals are added, the transcript is delivered. Think it’s over? Not quite. The attorneys immediately call to say, “How dare you add parentheticals to the transcript. How dare you not go off the record when I told you to.” So what do you do? Let me save you days of searching our rules to find out exactly what it says about going off the record and exactly what it says about parentheticals. In fact, I recommend you print these two rules out and carry them with you at all times so you can leave a copy with both attorneys on the spot to save yourself from unnecessary harassment from the attorneys. Go to the CRCB web site (www.crcb.state.tx.us), click on the Standards & Rules for Certification of Certified Shorthand Reporters as Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Texas, then go to: IV Revocation of Certification, then scroll down to “(B) either,” then scroll down further to No. 11., which reads: going "off the record" during a deposition when not agreed to by all parties or their attorneys unless otherwise ordered by the court. (This is listed as a reason for revocation of certification.) The next section regarding parentheticals is one that I have found few reporters are familiar with, but it is found by clicking on the Uniform Format Manual link from the main CRCB page, scroll down to 16.11 Parentheticals, which reads as follows: Parentheticals. Parenthetical notations in any transcription are a court reporter's or transcriber's own words, enclosed in parentheses, recording some action or event. Parenthetical notations should be as short as possible consistent with clarity and standard word usage. Parenthetical notations will begin at the third tab setting. In the event more than one line is necessary for a parenthetical each subsequent line will begin also at the third tab setting. Blank lines before or after parenthetical notations are prohibited. It is the responsibility of the attorneys, as well as the judge in some instances, to note for the record any significant nonverbal behavior (e.g., physical gestures and lengthy pauses on the part of a witness). If counsel or the court fail to refer to the witness's affirmative or negative gesture or other things occurring during the proceedings that may assist the reader, parenthetical notations may be used. (Back to Table of Contents) |