Previously Marked Exhibits

[Lindsay Pinkham]

It used to be that when attys would bring out a previously marked exh. (with the photocopied sticker or stamp bearing the previous witness's name and exh. number) and discuss it with the witness, at the end of the depo I would ask counsel if he wanted it attached for reference, along with the exhs marked in the current depo.  And if he said yes, I would send it in to the agency requesting that they attach it, and in my index above the exh. descriptions I would just have a parenthetical, (The following previously marked exhibits are attached hereto for reference:  Exhibits 3, 15, 21, and 25.)  Simple.

But lately I've noticed attys are not only bringing them out, but having me re-mark them (with the same number) as an exhibit to the current depo.  So if I'm told to start with Exh. 25 in my depo, then they'll bring out Exhibit 5 and have me re-mark that one as Exhibit 5 to my current depo.

That's fine if there are just a few.  But what if it's the case that you mark 30 new exhibits to your current depo, and they at one time or another touch on 30 other previously marked exhibits?  That automatically doubles the time you spend on your index, because now you have to list and describe 60 documents instead of 30.  And of course your descriptions may not be similar to the description the previous reporter created for her index.  And there's the time copying out all the Bates numbers in each document.

I want to spend my time on the words in the transcript, not re-marking and re-describing exhibits that they already have in previous depos.  Have any of you run into this disturbing trend?  I'm thinking of tracking my time and billing agencies for it if I have to do this extra work that I consider above and beyond what I used to do.

This practice has also caused confusion at law firms.  My agency recently got a call from opposing counsel wondering why there were gaps in the exhibit numbers - at first they accused me of losing them!

[D Sanders, RDR, CRR]

I don't ever describe prreviously marked.  I put it on my index with the number and page and write "NOT ATTACHED" and that's that.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

That's just crazy.  I've never had that happen.  They clearly have no clue what they are doing and what confusion it is causing.

I put PREVIOUSLY MARKED EXHIBITS

            EXHIBIT     PAGE

and I put the page and exhibit number that was referred to.  However, on the last job I was on, the attorney never even gave me all the previously marked exhibits, only one of them.  What a mess.