July 31, 2006: Russell arrested

[Dan]

At the Manchester District Court they told us that as long as we kept walking, we could hold signs, chant, and generally do whatever protesters do. I guess there must be some case law that established that if you're walking, you're not interfering. Go figure!

. o O ( Images of lining the sidewalk with treadmills )

[Tom Sawyer]

That is a funny image.
A fit activist is a happy activist. 

[Kat Kanning]

LOL!

[d_goddard]

Thread title: "Running at treadmills"
Newspaper headline: "Protesters arrested for dangerous levels of B.O."

[d_goddard]

I'm happy to buy the recordings if someone has the equipment to copy them from cassette into MP3 and post them. PM me.

Here's the scoop:
The cassette recording was made by the Court Reporter for her own use.
Officially, all she is required to do is to provide a transcript of that recording.

Cost to transcribe Russ' trial: $165.00 (!)
She maintains (politely but firmly) that she does not make copies of her personal recordings available.
Not for a fee. Not even if I copy the tapes. Not even if I give her the equipment for copying the tapes and the blank tapes to copy onto and whatever she wishes to charge for her time.
Hers, her tapes, not yours! 

The nice lady at the courthouse (who gave me the contact info for the abovenoted recalcitrant Court Reporter) apologied several times about the technical glitch. For the record, apparently Court Reporters typically don't make copies of their audiotapes available; it's not just this one being prickly. If the court laptop had worked properly (as apparently it does the vast majority of the time), it would have cost only $25 and they'd have given me a CD of the recording, all ready to go. Bummer.

FYI, a possibly-useful factoid is that the trial was formally "Case #06-MJ74, US vs. Kanning"
I have the Court Reporter's office info; anyone who wants to shell out the $165 to get the recording transcribed, please email me.

[Roycerson]

I have the Court Reporter's office info; anyone who wants to shell out the $165 to get the recording transcribed, please email me.

Or we could just all call and ask if she'd reconsider until she figures out that it would be easier on her to make it easy on us.  You can sign me up for that.

For clarification....  A transcript of the trial doesn't currently exist?  Just an audiotape?  So the court reporter's job is to go in there and push record and then stop the tape when it's over? 

It doesn't make sense to me.  In a beaurocracy people are paid to create paper things.  They love paper things there.  I'd think surely this court reporter was required to submit some sort of paper things to some other person who uses them to create more paper things and all of those paper things are subject to the FIA.  I guess I could be mistaken.

[Minsk]

I must be missing something, though that's a recurring theme. Am I looking at the right courthouse?

http://www.nhd.uscourts.gov/ci/court-reporters-transscripts.asp

[Roycerson]

Transcripts of court proceedings are prepared under normal circumstances within a 30-day period. For an additional fee, a request can be expedited (7 days) or may be made available on a daily basis.

Transcripts are normally produced in paper format, however, an ASCII disk is available. Keyword indexes and compressed transcripts can be provided and, in limited situations, realtime rought drafts. Parties should contact the individual reporter directly for transcript orders and payment.

It gives a price list and then says to contact the court reporter.  Is she required to provide it at the prices on the list?  If so it appears she has 30 days to do so.  Maybe the $165 is the 7 day cost.

[Lex]

Transcripts of court proceedings are prepared under normal circumstances within a 30-day period. For an additional fee, a request can be expedited (7 days) or may be made available on a daily basis.

Transcripts are normally produced in paper format, however, an ASCII disk is available. Keyword indexes and compressed transcripts can be provided and, in limited situations, realtime rought drafts. Parties should contact the individual reporter directly for transcript orders and payment.

It gives a price list and then says to contact the court reporter.  Is she required to provide it at the prices on the list?  If so it appears she has 30 days to do so.  Maybe the $165 is the 7 day cost.

It says the tape is $20.

[Roycerson]

I think that's the tape that messed up....  Again...  what do I know?  Anyone know which of these three court reporters listed is our girl?  I'm just itching to make a phone call.

Edit: OK I got the number but it's after office hours now.  I got her machine.  I'll call first thing in the morning.

[d_goddard]

Hey nice work getting that webpage, Minsk!
That is indeed the correct courthouse. And since her contact info is on that webpage directly, I have no problems putting it here:

Sandra L. Bailey (603) 225-1454
e-mail: Sandy_Bailey@nhd.uscourts.gov

I think the price list is misleading, it says:

Electronic Recording "Tape"

... which presumably is for people who would get confused by what an "electronic recording" is (like, they've never heard of a CD or MP3). In fact, in this case, the "electronic recording" was the laptop that broke down.

I did not ask for expedited transcription; my understanding is that the $165 is just the standard 30-day fee. I could be wrong.

Having lots of people call and request a copy of the tape (the actual cassette tape) is possibly the best bet at this point. Be sure and be nice and offer to compensate her for the "trouble" (ahem) of making a copy.

[KBCraig]

Court reporting is a racket. The reporter personally makes a profit from sales of transcripts.

[Happy Dude]

Good god free. And frigging Jeuse christ. I'm out raged over this whole thing. For (^&*((*&^() Sakes there are frigging Thugs out there and they go after Russel.

This Govrnment need to get a clue as well as a life. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tom Sawyer]

I'm wondering if the recording failed on the part of the court if they shouldn't get the audio released from this woman.

Or perhaps it is another case of government equipment failing conveniently. Let's see Waco, video recorder failed (bs), nixon tapes...

The court says oh yes you can use the recording any way you please. The stenographer doesn't have to get up the tape. Duplicity from a lawyer... nahhh can't be.

[Kat Kanning]

It looked like the equipment was really having a problem.