April 2007 “Tips from the Bench”

By Judge John Wittmayer, Multnomah County Circuit Court.

The record

By now you are all probably aware that only one of our judges has a court reporter in her courtroom. All the rest of us use electronic recording. The court reporters were laid off about four years ago because of budget cuts.

The electronic recording system is operated by the courtroom clerk and is recorded digitally on a computer system. When we had court reporters, of course, you would give your name to the reporter in advance of the hearing and the reporter would note in his/her notes the name of the person speaking. But with electronic recording, the computer does not know who you are.

The solution is that for every hearing, at the very beginning of the hearing, when the name of the case and the case number is recited into the record, each and every lawyer appearing should say aloud and spell his/her name and should say his/her bar number. If this is done, when the recording is later transcribed, the transcriptionist will know who is appearing and can recognize the speaker’s voice, so the words can be accurately attributed to the correct speaker.

And, although I have said it before, it is always good to keep in mind that the court is not responsible for making your record. If you walk away from your microphone or have your witnesses in trial walk away from the microphone, there is always a risk the electronic recording system will not pick up your questions and your witness’ testimony. Check with the clerk in advance or during a break to ask about the capabilities of the recording system in each courtroom.

Getting to the courtroom on time

With increased security in the courthouse lobby, lawyers, clients and witnesses often do not realize how long it actually takes to get into the courthouse. This is particularly a problem at 8:30 or 9 each morning and at 1:30 each afternoon, when the lines to go through security are very long.

And, although you may be aware of the problem yourselves and you get to court on time, your clients and witnesses are often delayed because of the long lines waiting to get through security. This often results in delays getting started with your hearing or trial. On the criminal side, bench warrants are frequently issued for your clients when they do not appear on time. Many of these problems would be avoided if you would tell your clients and witnesses they should expect long lines and delays getting into the courthouse and they should allow extra time to be sure to get to the courtroom on time.

You should also tell your clients and witnesses that the entire security checkpoint process would move more quickly if everyone minimized the amount of metal jewelry, accessories and carry-through items they bring or wear to the courthouse.

Loose lips sink ships

As the years pass, fewer and fewer of us have heard this common warning from the World War II era. It means to be careful what you say and where you say it, because you never know who might inadvertently overhear your words.

This same warning is appropriate for lawyers, their clients and witnesses in and around the courthouse, especially in the elevators and the hallways. Judges, jurors and other lawyers’ clients and witnesses are everywhere. You do not want others who might have an adverse impact on your case to overhear things.

Lawyers should remember to warn their clients and witnesses to not discuss anything about the case without you present, and you should be aware of who might overhear any such conversations in and around the courthouse.