What's the subject matter of the most/least interesting case you've worked on?

[Janiece Young]

Right now I'm working on a herbicide case.  FYI, don't put soybean herbicide on corn or corn herbicide on soybeans.  You'll kill your crop.  

One interesting thing I learned, it only takes like two teaspoons of soybean fertilizer mixed w/ 1500 gallons of water to cover about 400 acres.  

Okay, so this case would be put in the pile with my least interesting.  What about you?  What interesting or boring topics have you reported on?

[Ann Medis]

I just took the dep of a coroner serving as an expert on the subject of necrophilia with young homicide victims occurring at another morgue.

[Janiece Young]

Ann,

All I've got to say to that is EWWWW!!!

[Ann Medis]

Janiece, you echo the sentiments of many.

Michele - You were awesome!!!!  I read the transcripts of his testimony online.  I was curious about who he was throwing under the bus.  While I fought the urge, I found myself proofreading them.  Your transcripts were perfect.  You performed an amazing feat.  You deserve a boatload of thanks because your attention to detail is a tremendous reflection on all of us and this profession.  Millions of eyes viewed your work product.

[Janet]

 

Wow, Michele!  I'll bet a movie will come out of that story.   Maybe you'll get a role!  I love it when they use real court reporters in movies.  

[Michele Savoy Parente]

Oh,  my goodness, Ann!  Thank you so much for the compliment, because, unfortunately, they were not perfect!  My software had a corruption the first day I sat down to write!  Of course I had no sleep because I was a nervous wreck knowing there were going to be 40 high-powered attorneys in the room, six federal handlers,etc.  The bankrupcty attorney basically opened an Israeli phonebook & started reading names of investors.  Got the software running after an hour and a half and two calls to support when I returned to my hotel room. Then I did the corrections from the proofreader and none of them held when I sent them to be merged on another reporter's laptop.  My wonderful fellow court reporter friend came to help me when she got  my panicked  phone call about the software glitch.  I had opened the scopist's emails directly instead of saving them and the hotel's public wi-fi caused my security settings not to save the document.  Arggh.  Got the first day's t'script out at midnight.  By Wednesday I had full-blown bronchitis from the stress.  We really needed a third reporter, but I and the other reporter had already been vetted by the government and no one else could come in to relieve us.  But alls well that ends well.  Again, thanks for the compliment because all I can seem to dwell on is the few mistakes that were made.

[Debbie Taggart]

One of my most interesting cases was when I first started reporting back in the '80s -- that shows you how many interesting cases I get...  It was taken at Industrial Light & Magic (The StarWars special effects studios) in San Rafael.  The plaintiff was suing, saying that G. Lucas had stolen his ideas for the Imperial Walkers. They're the robot-camel-type things -- real tall, long legs.  Anyway, throughout the deposition, they pulled out and referred to original Star Wars story boards.  Then at the end of the day, they took us to this warehouse that housed all the current officially produced Star Wars merchandise there was at the time.  It was amazing.  I've never forgotten it.  

[Janiece Young]

That sounds so interesting, Deb.

[Janiece Young]

This was not the subject matter of the case but it came up in the testimony.  The witness told about a near-death experience she had in a car wreck back in 1979.  Wow!  It was so interesting to hear her tell about it.  She had short-term memory problems b/c of this particular accident but she recalled this experience like it had just happened to her. I've seen people talk about this type of thing on TV but is it very dramatic to be sitting in a room w/ an actual person and recording something like this.

It was a good day to be a reporter.

[Betsee]

Most boring - California construction defect.  Why are they unable to build a house that doesn't fall apart?

Most interesting - depos on one gas station owner that shot and killed another gas station owner because he kept lowering his prices all day.

[Debbie Taggart]

I LOVE the construction defect cases -- tons of copies!  (used to be, anyway)   Oh, do tell me everything I never wanted to know about sheetrock! 

[Patricia Babits]

I can't stand construction defect. They are good money, though!!

[Betsee]

Less sheetrock, more stucco cracks with this one :D