Oh, by the way...

When you have someone who is acting in a pro se function, he is testifying as a witness but retains an alter ego as counsel for the witness. If he asks a question of opposing or other counsel in terms of his position as a witness, I would put "THE WITNESS:" in that colloquy; if he's making an objection, or a statement of record like marking an exhibit or responding to an objection, I'd put "MR. SO-AND-SO:" because he's acting as counsel -- as listed on the appearance page.

I know that sounds gnarly at first blush, but, trust me, anyone reading the transcript is going to understand that the witness is pro se. Also, I trained law firms on litigation-support software years ago (discoveryBASE), so I know what happens to transcripts during trial preparation. They get chopped and mangled and little snippets here and there are read, and sometimes displayed on poster board. Taken out of context, it may look to a jury or other audience like the reporter made an error by showing "THE WITNESS:" followed by "Objection to the form," or something like that. This might be confusing to the jury, forcing the attorney to have to explain that the witness is pro se.

Indeed, I focus much of my paragraphing to present counsel (the ultimate client) with neat paragraphs to exerpt when proving up objections or defending objections during depositions, as well as trying to break up superfluous testimony from cogent stuff. As an example, sometimes a simple question can elicit a long answer, but the last sentence or two really sums up the entire lengthy paragraph. I'll break the summary out into its own paragraph not because of grammar but because I know that's all counsel will need to stuff the snippet into an issue code or something so he can create a good, cogent brief or response.

BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER: THE REPORTER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!! When in doubt, ask. They're going to see it anyway, so why wait. Even if you disagree with their position grammatically or in re: context, our job as a scopist is to minimize their keystrokes. This requires us to emulate their styles to the best of our ability, even if it's doing something you know or feel is incorrect. And there are many "quirks" in style out there, believe me.

Hope this helps.
- Charley

"If you always tell the truth, you won't have to remember what you said!"

Nick:	CharleySober
Date/Time:	Thursday, March 9, 2006 at 9:58:06 AM CST
Browser/OS:	Microsoft Internet Explorer V6.0 using Windows 98
Subject:	I would use his name.
Message:
When you have someone who is acting in a pro se function, he is testifying as a witness but retains an alter ego as counsel for the witness. If he asks a question of opposing or other counsel in terms of his position as a witness, I would put "THE WITNESS:" in that colloquy; if he's making an objection, or a statement of record like marking an exhibit or responding to an objection, I'd put "MR. SO-AND-SO:" because he's acting as counsel -- as listed on the appearance page. I know that sounds gnarly at first blush, but, trust me, anyone reading the transcript is going to understand that the witness is pro se. Also, I trained law firms on litigation-support software years ago (discoveryBASE), so I know what happens to transcripts during trial preparation. They get chopped and mangled and little snippets here and there are read, and sometimes displayed on poster board. Taken out of context, it may look to a jury or other audience like the reporter made an error by showing "THE WITNESS:" followed by "Objection to the form," or something like that. This might be confusing to the jury, forcing the attorney to have to explain that the witness is pro se. Indeed, I focus much of my paragraphing to present counsel (the ultimate client) with neat paragraphs to exerpt when proving up objections or defending objections during depositions, as well as trying to break up superfluous testimony from cogent stuff. As an example, sometimes a simple question can elicit a long answer, but the last sentence or two really sums up the entire lengthy paragraph. I'll break the summary out into its own paragraph not because of grammar but because I know that's all counsel will need to stuff the snippet into an issue code or something so he can create a good, cogent brief or response. BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER: THE REPORTER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!! When in doubt, ask. They're going to see it anyway, so why wait. Even if you disagree with their position grammatically or in re: context, our job as a scopist is to minimize their keystrokes. This requires us to emulate their styles to the best of our ability, even if it's doing something you know or feel is incorrect. And there are many "quirks" in style out there, believe me. Hope this helps. - Charley "If you always tell the truth, you won't have to remember what you said!"

Nick:	CharleySober
Date/Time:	Thursday, March 9, 2006 at 10:47:34 AM CST
Browser/OS:	Microsoft Internet Explorer V6.0 using Windows 98
Subject:	Oh, by the way...
Message:
I just added a quoted footer (like the one below) to my Message Defaults, and it's a generic slogan. I don't want anyone to think that it's related to their posting! Thanks, - Charley "If you always tell the truth, you won't have to remember what you said!"