Realtime Computer-Integrated Courtrooms Overview
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When Cheetah decided to develop a realtime litigation support system, we began by talking to judges, attorneys and official court reporters. We asked them why there were so few Computer-Integrated Courtrooms (CICs) in the country. The answers were consistent: Existing products were too expensive and too complicated to use. The philosophy behind Total Access and its predecessor was that an attorney unfamiliar with realtime litigation support should be able to walk into a courtroom, get a five minute (maximum) overview from the court reporter, and be able to productively use the system. Additionally, we made it so easy to connect that a freelance reporter can plug it in and set it up in an attorney’s conference room in a few minutes, with no complex hardware and cabling required. We’ve come a long way since that first generation, but all of the original goals are still met with our latest product—Total Access. We kept it simple. We added pulldown menus, mouse support, context-sensitive hypertext help, a comprehensive users guide, an administrator’s guide, and a wallet-sized quick reference card to make it extremely easy to learn and use. Total Access is time-based (rather than page/line) so that references to testimony in a rough draft won’t be wrong. It can output a “final” containing both times and page/line numbers. |
Realtime CIC Total Access Compatibility |
ADA Compliance
The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act made drastic changes to America’s legal system. Cheetah provides the tools to implement those changes. Not only are our products the ideal tools to provide access for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, but we pioneered realtime Braille CIC output as well, so the testimony can be reviewed by blind people. The Total Access screen has selectable text sizes, so that the letters can be enlarged for visually-impaired people, or to be seen from a distance.
Other Realtime CIC Benefits
Realtime is a valuable litigation tool in many ways. In addition to the uses for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, realtime litigation support tools speed up cases with interpreters by eliminating readback (just provide a station for the interpreter), and it prevents you from missing crucial testimony due to momentary distractions. In court, the judge can rule instantly on objections based on prior testimony. The bookmarks allow you to easily mark questions that need to be re-asked, and objections can be made with better backup information.
Connections
Total Access can be connected in a variety of different ways, allowing you to go with whatever works best for you. You can use a network, a distribution box, or with straight daisy chaining.
Daisy Chains
Our custom-designed cables allow the attorney’s and judge’s stations to be hooked up as a "daisy chain" even if they have only one serial port. The cables even have self-test circuitry built right in! There are no distribution boxes to buy, and it’s easy to connect an extra attorney at the last minute.
To extend the cables and put the systems farther apart, standard telephone extension cables can be used. No expensive special cabling is required.
Distribution boxes (DSD’s)
Distribution boxes (such as Cheetah’s DSD) can still be used, of course, if that’s the easiest way to wire your room, but our cabling solution makes spending those hundreds of dollars your decision, not ours!
Because of Cheetah’s innovative cabling technology, you can stack DSDs, and even mix and match DSD connections with daisy chain connections, allowing you to get more connections onto your DSD.
Networks
Total Access can not only be connected using these inexpensive serial communication systems with telephone cables, but also using high-speed PC networks such as Novell Netware.
The major advantages of a network connection are the speed of refresh (where the attorney received a freshly-edited copy of the transcript to replace the raw realtime) and the ability to connect to more than one realtime session at a time.
Digital Sharing Device
Connecting your realtime clients just got easier
Cheetah’s Digital Sharing Device (DSD) is the ideal tool for the Computer Integrated Courtroom. Your realtime text is output directly to the DSD, and up to four or eight (depending on your DSD model) client computers can then plug into the DSD and view your transcript using Cheetah’s Total Access or other CIC programs such as SimulView™, CaseView™, or LiveNote™.
The DSD has several advantages over the “daisy-chain” method of connecting your host computer to CIC client computers. Each client can easily connect and disconnect without affecting the others. Also, the DSD lets you output to clients running different CIC products. For example, with Cheetah’s DSD, you can output your realtime text to a client running Total Access, another running CaseView, and yet another running LiveNote—all at the same time!
The beauty of Cheetah’s approach is that we let you decide which approach works best for you.
Cheetah’s DSD features:
- Full compatibility with Total Access, SimulView, CaseView, and LiveNote data output
- Support for different types of CIC client systems simultaneously
- Four and eight-port versions available
- Lightweight and easy to carry anywhere!
Ease Of Use
Total
Access comes with a User Guide and a wallet-sized Quick Reference Card,
but the simple menus and comprehensive on-screen help make them almost
unnecessary.
The program can be run from the keyboard, or with a mouse. Everything uses simple, easy-to-remember commands (like "F" for Find or "N" for Note), and all of the commands are also available through the menus.
This is an example of one of the pulldown menus in Total Access for DOS. The menus in Total Access for Windows have the same content, but use standard Microsoft Windows formats. Each command can be called out with a single key rather than using the menu, and each line has its own comprehensive onscreen help.
Feature Grid
| Total Access for DOS |
Total Access for Windows |
|
| Audio synchronization | --- | YES |
| Serial "daisy chain" | YES | YES |
| Serial w/distribution box | YES | YES |
| Supports networks | YES | YES |
| Multi-CAT compatibility | --- | YES |
| Timecode-based | YES | YES |
| Passwords and encryption | YES | YES |
| Find text and/or time | YES | YES |
| View multiple transcripts | YES (two) | YES (no limit) |
| View ASCII from other systems | YES | YES |
| Print reports | YES | YES |
| Report on marked text only | YES | YES |
| Print Q/A pairs containing marked text | YES | YES |
| Notes (annotation) | YES | YES |
| One-key issue coding | YES | YES |
| Find with issue codes | YES | YES |
| Configurable QuickFind | YES | YES |
| Context-sensitive help | YES | YES |
| Split window | YES | YES |
| Mouse support | YES | YES |
| Pulldown menus | YES | YES |
Audio Synchronization
SmartCAT has integrated audio that requires no additional software to be able to record and play audio.
Despite all the advantages to textual transcripts, there are still some times that it’s nice to have the audio. You might want to hear a deponent’s tone of voice when she answered a question, or hear the pause between a question and an answer. If your court reporter is set up with a system for digitally recording the audio on his or her computer, then you can get a synchronized file for Total Access (Windows version only), which allows you to select portions of the testimony and hear the original audio right through your computer’s speakers.
Total Access for Windows can play audio file stored in the standard .WAV format that has been recorded and saved to your computer’s hard drive. Because both audio files and TAC files are timecoded, the audio can be easily synchronized to your timecoded transcript. In order to play audio files, your computer must have a sound card and speakers installed and properly set up for use in Windows.
Total Access for Windows does not include an audio record function. Your court reporter can create audio files using the AudioLink software included with TurboCAT revision 6.2 or later, or the built-in Audio recording function included in SmartCAT.
Timecodes for accuracy
Most "XXX-View" software uses page and line references in the files. This means that any reference made to testimony in a "raw" transcript will be attached to the wrong testimony after indexes are added and editing is completed. Cheetah’s products attach a timestamp to every word and give you a solid reference point that will be consistent between the edited transcript, the unedited transcript and the videotape.
Because of Cheetah’s approach, the court reporter can "refresh" the testimony in the attorney’s and judge’s stations to incorporate spellings of proper names and typographical corrections, as well as indexes and exhibit descriptions. Annotations all stay attached to the correct testimony. This refresh doesn’t require making a floppy disk to carry to the attorneys - it’s all performed over the realtime serial or network cabling (see connection methods).
Other litigation support products are just beginning to adopt the timecode approach, over five years after Cheetah led the way. As usual, though, Cheetah is still ahead. We timestamp every translate for accurate annotation, not just every couple of seconds or lines like the others. Accuracy and ease-of-use are once again Cheetah’s main goal.
Attorney Tools
Attorneys and judges benefit from the addition of productivity enhancers like marking, annotation, issue coding, keyword highlighting, ASCII output, report generation, split windows, ASCII file viewing, multiple file viewing, large text, double spacing and more.
Total Access was designed from scratch so that these features could be done right, rather than "tacked on" as an afterthought as others have done.
Data security
Total Access offers excellent security for attorneys and court reporters, with separate passwords. The attorney’s annotations are encrypted using our proprietary CrypTAC encryption technology to keep them safe from prying eyes. Reporters can even allow access to realtime while restricting the ability to print or make ASCII copies.
Not Just For Realtime!
Total Access is more than just an "XXX-View" realtime viewer. It works with both realtime jobs and prior testimony, and can split the screen for viewing multiple sessions. On networks, you can even connect to two realtime jobs simultaneously (for example multi-track depositions). It can view ASCII transcripts from any CAT or word processing software.
Searching testimony is easy! You can search for issues, keywords, timestamps, and marked testimony; and create a list of keywords to be highlighted in a different color wherever they appear in testimony.
Annotations
Total Access allows you to annotate your transcript using NoteView, IssueView and IntelliMark. NoteView is a simple way for you to add your own comments to the testimony. Notes of up to 100 lines in length may be attached to any line or block of testimony, and can be viewed, searched for and printed.
With IssueView, you can define up to 1,000 issues for the case, and optionally assign keys to individual issues. Associating testimony with a specific issue is as simple as pressing that key, or pressing "I" for Issue and picking the issue(s) off of a list. Later, you can print Issue reports with all associated testimony grouped by issue, or even save the reports as ASCII files.
IntelliMark is a bookmarking system that allows you to mark testimony for later reference and easily jump from mark to mark.
Reports
Total Access can print reports or create them in ASCII format, ready to load into your favorite word processor. The wide range of report formats includes full transcript text with inline annotations and detail reports that extract only the testimony you want, grouped by issue. All this makes Total Access a useful litigation support tool even if it isn’t connected for realtime. You can password-protect the testimony to prevent unauthorized copying, and you can always save your annotations, even when you can’t save the associated testimony.
Other Features
Total Access allows up to 1,000 issue codes, which can be attached to text using this menu item, or assigned directly to keys. This allows you to attach an issue code to a question or answer by pressing a single keystroke!
Notes in Total Access can be added with or without issue codes, and each note can be upwards of a page in length. The notes can be edited, viewed on-screen, printed in reports, and saved in ASCII transcripts.
Individual lines or blocks of text can be marked for future reference simply by pressing the [M] key (or spacebar), or clicking the mouse. QuickFind can then be used to skip from mark to mark. Marks can also be printed on reports.
All references to text use the time of day rather than page and line numbers (until the final draft is complete). This prevents inaccurate references to prior testimony, allows for fresh edited copies of the transcript to be provided during testimony, and simplifies video synchronization.
Total Access has comprehensive searching capability, allowing you to scan the transcript for various combinations of text, issue codes, and time references. Numerous options, such as case sensitivity, make searching easy and accurate.
Hardware Requirements
| TAC for DOS | TAC for Windows | |
| Computer (CPU) | 386DX or better | 486DX recommended |
| Total RAM memory | 1Mb min, 4Mb recommended | 4Mb min, 8Mb recommended |
| Disk cache | 1Mb or more recommended | 1Mb or more recommended |
| Hard drive | at least 5Mb free | at least 5Mb free |
| Floppy drive | 3-1/2" high density (1.44Mb) | 3-1/2" high density (1.44Mb) |
| Video monitor | EGA, VGA, SVGA, XVGA | EGA, VGA, SVGA, XVGA |
| Mouse | optional | strongly recommended |
| Serial ports | 1 min (in addition to mouse) | 1 min (in addition to mouse) |
| Operating System | MS-DOS 6.2 recommended | Windows 3.x or Windows 95 |
CAT Software Compatibility
Total Access was designed to work with Cheetah’s TurboCAT software. In keeping with our philosophy of openness and compatibility, TurboCAT for Windows works with most major CAT software on the market.
It is even possible, using a digital sharing device, to have a court reporter simultaneously sending realtime output to TurboCAT, CaseView, and LiveNote!
