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?

[Patricia Babits]

I had one depo that was so boring I don't know what is was even about.  I just kept marking exhibits all day.  When it was over, the defense attorney looked at me and said, "That was the most boringest depo I've ever been on." LMAO at "most boringest."

I find employment cases the most interesting.They have a lot of drama.  Each workplace is like a little world in itself.

I did a hearing on lead paint, and that was actually more interesting than watching paint dry. I thought it would be really boring.

[Janiece Young]

Hey, Patricia, I do a lot of employment law too.  I'm working on an arbitration currently that is very interesting.  

Sometimes I sit there as things drone on and on and I think to myself, "Why are we here today?"  But then I remind myself that I'm getting paid for it and that makes it all better.  :-)

Ahh, a case about paint.  That could lead to a lot of funny jokes!!!

[Judy]

I had an employment case not too long ago that dealt with strip clubs, prostitutes, and glow sticks.  Use your imagination.

[Judy]

I will add that if anybody ever sees the name (expert) Dr. Sharon Kawai in Fullerton, CA, on the calendar, JUMP at the chance to take her depo.  She's by far the most fascinating person I've ever met.  Extremely inspirational.

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-08-08/local/me-21855_1_spina-bifida

[Patricia Babits]

Wow.  My cousin had spina bifida. She lived to 32.

[Grace M. Thompson]

I've had her twice, Judy!  She is very interesting.

[Judy]

Grace, Did she tell any personal stories while you were there?  We waited for, I think, 45 minutes for a late attorney and heard a lot of her stories.  She is a talker, so I'd guess you heard at least some of them.

[Grace M. Thompson]

Judy, if I remember, it's been several years, she was a very interesting and "talkative" witness, in a good way.  We didn't get a chance to chat  in either depo, but she told stories throughout the depo.  Amazing lady, that's for sure!

[Deborah M.]

I did the depo of Al Mann in a case about a company he started -- MiniMed.  He was one of the inventors of the first pacemaker.  Minimed is an insulin pump maker. He's also working on a artificial retina and something to make deaf people hear.  Fascinating guy -- total genius, a billionaire many times over, and a very nice, down-to-earth guy.  I think he's in his 80s and still working and inventing stuff.  (And my niece was working at MiniMed at the time so that made it really interesting.  When he still owned it, they had the company Xmas party at his mansion.)

Boring?  Too many to mention!

[Grace M. Thompson]

I sat less than five feet away from a man serving life in federal prison while taking his deposition.  Lasted five hours and I got almost 240 pages.  Joseph Miedzianowski, a former Chicago Police detective for over 20 years.  The prosecutor at his trial called him the most corrupt cop in the city's history.  He was convicted on racketeering charges, using his badge to run a Miami-to-Chicago drug ring and having people killed along the way, arming gang members, etc...Very interesting.  Least favorite?  Interpreted workers' comp...nap time...:)

[Janet]

 

Mine is similar to Judy's.  I covered the trial of a pimp.  The witnesses were all hookers.   While the pimp was in jail before the trial, he had a phone conversation (taped) with one of the hookers in which he basically admitted everything he did.  Not the brightest bulb.

 

I learned all about what happens at truck stops and how much each "service" costs.  Can't discuss the rates here, though.  All I can say is that they need a raise.  

[Janiece Young]

I just remembered I took the deposition of a meth cook.  His story was very similar to the movie Winters Bone.  The people that are in that line of work will kill you as soon as look at you.

When he cooked meth he cooked inside a chicken coop.  Have you ever been inside a chicken coop?  Oh, my, I can't imagine spending more than a couple minutes in a chicken coop, let alone 24 hours straight cooking meth.

It was interesting how he got caught.  He was at Walmart buying Christmas gifts for his kids in January.  I guess when you are on meth, you lose track of time.  Anyway, he was paying for the gifts.  He handed the little Walmart clerk the cash and it was counterfeit.  The kingpin he was working for had given him fake money.  The clerk saw the money was fake and police were called.  

This guy had no ID b/c these people live under the radar.  He went directly to jail.  He didn't even get to pass go and collect $200 (haha).  He had to go straight to jail.

I think about that guy every now and then.  He was a nice guy except he got caught up in that world. He was trying to turn his life around.  I hope he made it out of that world.