Rural Practice and South Dakota

I'm from South Dakota originally, but recently relocated to Nebraska.  When I lived in South Dakota, I practiced law from Rapid City, and ventured to other, smaller towns for the occasional case.  In Nebraska, I live and practice in a much more rural setting.  Holdrege, Nebraska is a town of about 5,000 people, set in a county of about 10,000 people.  However, many of my cases come out of the surrounding counties, the county seats of which are much smaller.

When I was a law student, I distinctly remember the Chief Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, David Gilbertson speaking to law students about the absence of attorneys in many rural communities and the problems this was creating in the administration of justice.  I remember thinking that rural practice could be an excellent opportunity, but not having a clue as to how one would find out about rural communities in need of attorneys.

Well, the South Dakota State Bar Association has taken up the challenge of studying the decline of rural law practice through its recent announcement of the creation of the Rural Practice Task Force (see page 2 of the State Bar Newsletter).  This development has been widely reported on, both within South Dakota (see the Argus Leader's coverage), as well as more widespread national coverage (see the Wall Street Journal Law Blog's coverage, see this post from the Rural Lawyer blog, and see this post from My Shingle).

In my short time thus far practicing law in rural Nebraska, I have already heard from one judge and multiple attorneys about the need for attorneys in certain rural communities, as well as the gratitude and relief that some new attorneys are moving to more rural communities to begin their careers.  It is clear to me that this problem is certainly not limited to South Dakota.

What should be done to address the problem of 'justice denied' in rural communities?  I'm not exactly sure, but I think that the task force created by the South Dakota State Bar is an excellent first step.  I, for one, will be following the task force's activity to see what they discover.

South Dakota Rural Areas Need Lawyers

When I was in law school, the need for attorneys to practice in rural areas was a topic much discussed among the students and the faculty.  Chief Justice Gilbertson, of the South Dakota Supreme Court, even came to the law school to discuss the issue on more than one occasion.  It looks like the Wall Street Journal has picked up the topic now.  You can access the story here, if you are interested in reading more.

What To Do (& Not Do) When Speaking for Court Reporters

During my clerkship in Sioux Falls, I took on a part-time job working with a court reporting program. My primary job duty consisted of dictating materials for court-reporting students to take down on their stenography machines. In addition to my official job duties, I considered the part-time job to be a valuable learning tool for myself to learn how to best speak so that the court reporters I come across in my career can make a solid record. I had no experience with court reporting prior to that part-time job, but certainly now know a whole lot about court reporters' preferences. So, as most people are not fortunate enough to get the opportunity to hear straight from the court reporter's mouth, I thought I'd pass along those pointers that I learned from my time working in a court reporting program. These apply pointers apply to attorneys and to witnesses.

#1: Speak slowly.

Most people speak too quickly, especially when they are nervous. People are more likely to be nervous when in court or in a deposition, and this is when court reporters are trying to take down every word that you say. Therefore, if you would like the court reporter to take down every word that you say, speak slowly. Chances are that you are probably speaking more quickly than you think, anyway. This rule is even more important if you are using medical terminology or other specialized terms which the court reporter is not likely to encounter very often.

#2: Read even more slowly.

People read much more quickly than they typically speak. If the document that you are reading is important (and it probably is, or you wouldn't bother to read from it), then you should slow down while reading to make sure that the words are on the record.

#3: Spell difficult names & specialized terms of art.

If your name is Smith or Jones, you don't need to spell it. If your name is more complicated, spell it for the court reporter (and don't forget to spell slowly). The same rule holds true for medical terms or other specialized terms. If you would like the transcript of the hearing/deposition/etc. to have correctly spelled words, and those words are not in the lay person's vocabulary, spell them for the court reporter.

#4: Don't go off on tangents.

If the court reporter asks you to repeat something that you have said, do just that--repeat what you said. Do not go off on a tangent explaining the concept or background story to the court reporter. The court reporter was not asking you to repeat yourself because s/he did not understand what you were talking about, but only because s/he did not hear or understand the words that you said.

#5: Do not interrupt or speak over another person.

A court reporter can only take down one speaker at a time. When people talk over one another or interrupt each other, the record becomes muddled and may even be missing some of what was said. Wait until one person has finished speaking before you speak.

#6: Answer out loud, using real words.

Do not nod or shake your head, as a court reporter can only take down verbal responses. Try to minimize mmm-hmm, hmm-mmm, uh-huh, and huh-uh, as these can be taken down by the court reporter but are open to interpretation. Use "yes," "no," and other real word verbal responses.

#7: If the court reporter is marking an exhibit, do not speak.

When the court reporter's hands are off of the machine, s/he cannot take down what is being said. Therefore, when the court reporter is marking an exhibit (i.e. writing on an exhibit sticker and placing that exhibit sticker on a document or other type of exhibit), s/he cannot possibly take down what is being said, and attorneys and parties should not speak at this time.