Court briefs ... HELP!

[Terri Turner, RMR, CRR]

I have just been hired as a federal reporter [insert every possible emotion]. In Kentucky, there are no reporters in state court unless the attorneys want to hire them out of their own pocket. That basically never happens, so my court experience is pretty slim. Another reporter and I tag-teamed a week-long trial four years ago, and that about sums it up.

Needless to say, I am looking for as many briefs and commonly used phrases as I can get my hands on! Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Phil Stillerman]

Not knowing the subject-matter of the court makes it difficult to answer, but ...
let the record reflect LERK
let the record show LERS
yes, your honor YERNS (yearns YAERNS)
no, your honor NOURNS
I object IB
objection sustained BAIND
objection overruled BOFRLD
circumstantial evidence KREFD
credible evdience KREBD
offer of proof AOFRP
offers of proof AOFRPS

[Pattie Walker]

Here's a few I learned in CR school:

LAIRJ = Ladies and gentlemen of the jury
YRD = beyond a reasonable doubt
BL*F = bailiff
BORM = bodily harm
BOIJ = bodily injury
YFRD = beyond every reasonable doubt
O*BGS = objection
PRUNS = presumption of innocence
PROT = property
PRRT = prosecutor
SFPZ = search and seizure
SWARNT = search warrant
UTS = under the circumstances
UFLS = under the influence

I hope these help a little bit.

Sincerely,

Pattie Walker

[Patricia Babits]

Congratulations! I saw the ad and thought that looked like a great job.

I never worked in court. Have you tried the federal reporter's website? They have a message board on there. I bet some reporters would share with you.
It's www.uscra.org

[Brenda]

Terri,
I have tons of them. If you need more email me. Like Phil said, if you knew the subject matter, that would help.

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

presentence reporte - prorp
sentencing guidelines - s*gs
probation officer - praufr
District of - drif
base offense level - blefl
offense level - ofl
adjusted offense level - afl
criminal history - krift
criminal history points - krips
prison - prin
imprisonment - primt
magistrate judge - muj
magistrage - maegt
FBI - fib
ATF - aft
airport - aeurpt
international airport - naeurpt
death penalty - d*p
racketeering act - rakt
Speedy Trial Act - spakt
status conference - skofrns
guilty plea - glip
plea of guilty - plog
are you pleading guilty voluntarily and of your own free will - rupg/vornl
presentence investigation report - pifr
credible evidence - krefd
credible testimony - krem
methapmhetamine - m-ft
heroin - hoin
cocaine - kaen
powder cocaine - poik
crack cocaine - kroik
cocaine base - kroib
marijuana - waun
kilogram - k*g
Booker - case name
FanFan - case name
Reda - case name
Gaul - case name
Crosby - case name
Sentencing Commission
Sentencing Reform Act of 1984
ECF - Elelctronic Case Filing
supreme court - skort
the Government - T*G
the defendant - T*D
the Government's - T*GS
the defendant's - T*DZ
MCC - m-k/c-fplt
MDC - m-d/c-fplt
MDL - m-d/l-fplt
Section 3553(a) - section of sentencing guidelines covering extraordinary family circumstances and basis for an argument for a lower sentence.
pre-trial - pr-t
pre-trial services - pr-ts
supervised release - splaoes
special assessment - spemt
Mann Act
parsimony clause
downward departure - dwarp
downwardly depart - dwarpl
federal defender - fefd
CJA - k*aj
aggravating factors - ag/facts
mitigating factors - mit/facts
organized crime - o*bg
RICO - Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (Act) - raoe/koe
Title III - Wiretap - Federal Wiretap Act of 1968
FISA - Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Also known as FISA Court.
FAA - fa/fa
HUD - h*ud
Commission of the Social Security Administration is Michael Astrue. He is also known as the Commissioner.
Assistant U.S. Attorney - sdaus
Assistant United States Attorney - sdaeus
prosecutor - praourt
Section 2255 - Ineffective Assistance of Counsel motin made by defendants
habeas corpus - haeuk
motion in limine - moinl
Rule 29 - motion made at the end of the Government's case for a dismissal
interest of justice - truj.

I'll check my files on monday and see if there are more that I have. On second though, I know I have more. Get back to you soon.

[Patricia Harris Vernon]

Are you on CaseCatalyst by any chance? The latest version has a wonderful added aspect that comes up with the best briefs on the spot using your own dictionary and your writing style. It's called Brief It. It works instantly during realtime translation and makes sense.

[Jessica K. Belcher]

Here are some that are pretty basic.

plea agreement - PLAOEMT
appellate court - PLOURT
federal court - FOURT
municipal court - MOURT
district court - DROURT
state court - STOURT
let the record reflect - LEFRKT
may it please - MAIPLS
overruled - O*FRLD
sustained - STAEND
speed trial - SPAOET
preliminary hearing - PLAOERG
preponderence of the evidence - P-PD
burden of proof - BR-P
burden - BURD
visitation - VA*IGS
vacation - VAIGS
hearing - HEARG
guidelines - GLAOINS
county - K*NT
objection - O*BGS
no objection - NO*BGS
bodily injury - BOJ
bodily injuries - BOJS
witness stand - W-ND
juror - JAOR
jurors - JAORS
grand jury - GR-J
grand jurors - GRAORS
in contempt - TKPHEMT
plaintiff - PL-F
defendent - D-FT
petition - P*IGS
petitioner - P*IRGS
respondent - SPONT
domestic - DMEK
domestic relations affidavit - DMRAF
QDRO - QUAD/ROE

[Patricia Harris Vernon]

Jessica, these are good...some of these would be good in the freelance world as well.

[Kyung]

Thanks for all the briefs. I'm sure they'll be very helpful.

[tphaeulz]

I will e-mail you some.

[tphaeulz]

I need your e-mail address.

[Terri Turner, RMR, CRR]

My e-mail address is [e-mail]. Thanks!!