The doctor being deposed below was treating the plaintiff in the case who was claiming he had gotten toxic acne from an accident on his job. The defense attorney, thinking that the doctor's testimony would support the plaintiff's claims, sought to discredit the doctor's opinion by showing that he was treating outside his own specialty of ears, nose and throat.
-- Gary Morgan
As a court reporter, often I hear the legal position that a warning label could have prevented an accident from happening. Sometimes one just wonders!
Young Mick had settled in for a good night's sleep when he was awakened by a loud explosion. His bedroom door had been blown open by air pressure, and his curtains had flown out the open window. He rushed downstairs, to find his mother staggering from the kitchen with smoke rising from patches where there used to be hair. She seemed more dazed than injured, so he sat her down and went into the kitchen.
It looked like a small bomb had gone off. The net curtains were a pile of melted nylon, and the cotton curtains were still on fire. Mick put them out with a few glasses of water and returned to his mother to find out what had happened.
"Well," she said, "I thought that the kitchen was a little smelly so I got out a spray can of air freshener. Nothing came out but I knew something was inside, because I could hear it when I shook the can. So I thought I'd open it with the can opener and sprinkle some of the contents around."
Propellant spurted from the can as soon as the can opener cut into it, startling Mom and causing her to throw the can into the air. It landed on the gas stove, where the pilot light instantly turned the can into a fireball.
I wonder what a warnings expert's suggestion would be . . .
Laura H. Nichols
Tyler Eaton
(Photo by Jane Nichols, Laura's Mother-in-Law)
I have a copy of my mama's hard drive on my computer, and sometimes I happen upon one of her writings that makes my day brighter and evokes happy memories for me. Today as I was searching for a document, I ran across some of her favorite proverbs that I enjoyed and hope you will too!
- Laura H. Nichols
· I will prepare, and some day my chance will come. (Abraham Lincoln)
· A pessimist is a person who mourns the future.
· What fills the eye fills the heart. (Celtic proverb)
· The difference between the right and the almost right word is the difference between lightening and lightening bug. (Mark Twain)
· Perfect etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely necessary. (Ann Landers)
· A clear conscience is a good pillow. (American Proverb)
· Like what you do; if you don't like it, do something else. (Paul Harvey)
· Fresh air and sunshine and plenty of grace slam the door in the doctor's face. (American proverb)
· He that gives should never remember; he that receives should never forget.
· All time spent being angry is time lost being happy (Mexican proverb)
· Reputation is what you are in the light; character is what you are in the dark. (American Proverb)
· Don't let your tongue cut your throat. (Irish proverb)
· Speaking without thinking is shooting without aiming. (French proverb)
· Thoughts are like arrows: once released, they strike their mark. Guard them well or one day you may be your own victim. (Native American proverb)
-From the Writings of Maryann Cavender Hood (Laura's mama)
Often attorneys use videos and descriptive methods to help jurors experience what life is like for their clients after disabling on-the-job accidents or car wrecks. My daughter Anna is teaching high-school English in Székesfehérvár, Hungary this year. This past weekend, she visited a fascinating exhibition in Budapest that emulated in real-time what it was like to be blind.
Since Anna was the only English-speaking participant, she had a private tour with an attorney from Székesfehérvár as her guide, who was also blind. I would like to share a bit of Anna's experience with you.
Laura Nichols, RPR, CRR
Court Reporter
There was total darkness
I followed his lead
The blind leading the blind
I touched the walls, the trees, the stop lights, the stove
I felt faces, brushed arms, fell over tables
My guide kept my fear at bay
Till there was no difference between eyes open and shut
Voices from the right
Voices from the left
Blink
Blink
Nothing
There was nothing
Total Darkness
Anna Kristen Nichols
(annakristen.blogspot.com)
I enjoy my court reporting career greatly and have had the privilege of reporting for so many attorneys that are highly skilled and who are such tributes to the legal profession!
There have historically been loads of jokes and disparaging comments about attorneys banded about, so I wanted to balance this with a positive tribute and share with you one of my favorite writings about trial lawyers by Francis Hare, an attorney from Birmingham, Alabama who was integral in founding both the American Trial Lawyers Association and the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association.
My Learned Friends
(From Memories of a Trial Lawyer)
By Francis Hutcheson Hare
"I once tried to describe trial lawyers as follows:
There is something different and special about the trial lawyer. You can tell it whenever you go in a courtroom and see any lawyer, old or young, good or bad, when his time comes to stand up and speak in behalf of his client, white or black, right or wrong.
Then, something happens that's unlike anything else on earth; it is like the touch of Midas that turns dust into gold, or the miracle of electricity that turns a few strips of metal into a glowing flame of light.
There is a touch of everything wonderful in the advocacy of a lawyer for his client, in his effort to make the worst appear the better part, or in his effort to defend the right. There is a dash of love in it, and there is a little of the effect of bourbon whiskey; there is a little sex appeal, and more than a little magic.
I have seen a shabby old lawyer that almost literally slept in the street come to court unshaved and disheveled and rise before a jury that came to scoff and remained to pray. Every man who has lived the life of a lawyer knows what I mean and knows that there must be a source of this transformation of personality and power that touches an ordinary man with the Pentecostal fire of an advocate."
To all the attorneys that make my career so enjoyable,
enlightening and fulfilling -- thank you!
Laura
Laura H. Nichols, RPR, CRR, CMRS
Tyler Eaton Morgan Nichols & Pritchett Court Reporters
SURPRISED?
Are you sometimes surprised when you read a deposition transcript and see in written form what you thought you'd said?
When a deposition is reported and videoed, the reporter must put in EVERYTHING -- otherwise, when it is synchronized with the video, it will look as if the transcript were incomplete. In non-video depositions, the reporter ordinarily will "clean up" false starts and grammatical errors on the attorney's behalf (never the witness's). So, when you are taking your next video depo, remember to go off the record to make comments that you ordinarily might do in jest, thinking that the reporter would just omit them from the transcript.
Here are some quotes from folks that I'm sure wished they had thought a bit more before speaking:
"I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law." -- David Dinkins, Former New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.
"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
-- Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, D.C.
"I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions --but I don't always agree with them." George Bush, Former US President
"I was provided with additional input that was radically different from the truth. I assisted in furthering that version." -- Colonel Oliver North, from his Iran-Contra testimony
"We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people." -- Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC Instructor
"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?" -- Lee Iacocca
... If only we had been able to proofread what was escaping through our mouths!
Laura
Laura H. Nichols, RPR, CRR, CMRS
Tyler Eaton Morgan Nichols & Pritchett Court Reporters
www.TylerEaton.com
One Federal Place, Suite 1020
1819 Fifth Avenue North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
Office 205.252.9152 • Fax 205.252.0196
Cell 205.612.1901 • 1.800.458.6031
lnichols@TylerEaton.com
