Well, now you can.  At Flygare & Associates we have a way to convert our text files so that if you need a word index of the transcript we can print that index for you just like you get with your deposition transcripts.  Since we do not use the same software program court reporters do we have not always been able to provide a word index.  We have figured out a way to work around the issues we have had previously and now we can provide you a word index with your transcript.  All you need to do when you submit a job for transcription work is request a word index and we'll be happy to provide it for you.  Call Chris or me for a price quote or to answer any questions about creating a word index for your file. 

Flygare & Associates In-House Transcription Department transcribes a variety of hearings, meetings, videos, text messages, voice messages, emails, etc.  We are here for all your transcription needs.

Video Vault

By Chris Lewis, FLVS

Legal Video Specialist

 

In today's legal video world there is a wide range of use for the video camera.  It is not only limited to use inside the court room anymore, but outside the court room and in the field of day to day crimes and activities.

 

In all types of cases from car accidents all the way to murder cases forensic video can be used to recreate a crime scene. In car accident cases this legal video tool can be used to recreate the accident and to determine who was at fault. 

 

Why rely just on photo or drawing to create the setting of a crime scene or accident scene.  Nothing tells more of a truthful story than a video shoot of the scene before it is disturbed or items are moved or people can change their memory.

 

With today's video technologies you can have a legal videographer to an accident or crime scene very quickly.  We are at the ready for your call to get to a location or meet the police or rescue agency to film the actions taken by people at the scene.

I have personally videotaped an accident scene and the aftermath of the arrest and emergency services taking place.  My video was used and supported the police actions during the arrest. 

We never take sides as a videographer, but rest assured the video will tell the truth and that is what we are always striving for, is the truth.

Thank you for reading another edition of the Video Vault, tune in next month for the next exciting volume.

Please call or send an e-mail to RGflygare@flygare.com if you would like more information on this or any of our previous stories from the video vault.  All calls and e-mails are considered private and highly confidential.

On August 24^th, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger discusses budget with Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and said, "So there's a lot of waste of money that is within government. We have court reporters. That's old fashioned. We don't need a court reporter anymore that is typing away. We have now the cameras, we have the recording devices, we have everything. But because labor insists on keeping them, even though we don't need them, it costs us hundreds of millions of dollars every year extra."
(Click here to view this speech in its entirety)

Then again during a press conference to discuss the budget on September 1^st, 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger said, "We have electronic court reporting, $100 million. We do not need any people there. We have the technology now to do the reporting and to do the recording."
(Click here to view this speech in its entirety)

Lisa Michaels, president of the Deposition Reporters of California, takes Governor Schwarzenegger to task in this video "open letter" for his position that human court reporters can be replaced by recording devices. 
(Click here to view the video message in its entirety)

"I can appreciate Governor Schwarzenegger's plight," said NCRA President Melanie Humphrey-Sonntag, a court reporter and firm owner from Chicago, "he's got to find ways to cut the state's deficit. But the cost savings of using digital audio are inflated. They're not considering all the costs of digital audio. In fact, there's no proof that digital audio saves ANY money at all. In the meantime, California would be chasing phantom savings and, in the process, severely compromise the integrity of its judicial system and access to the system by its citizens. In his own words, Governor Schwarzenegger wants to 'usher in a golden new era of prosperity in California.' That's what court reporters want as well. I hope he gives the state's court reporters a role in the process-an opportunity to work on that with the courts and legislators together."
(Click here to view this article in its entirety)

As a sometimes transcriptionist, I know the difficulties of trying to create a transcript from a recording or even a video.  The sound quality is rarely good and sometimes downright impossible.  Several times I have encountered microphones that didn't work, babies crying and obscuring the sound, people shuffling papers, layers of people speaking at the same time, and voices that were so close to identical on the recording that it was not possible to differentiate between them, just to name a few of the many possible problems.  In my opinion, all of these factors play into a lower quality and sometimes unusable record. 

Governor Schwarzenegger, I know that you won't "be back" as Governor, but I can't believe you want your legacy for the fine state of California to be the deterioration of the judicial record.