Attorney terminal having outline preparation capabilities for managing trial proceedings

• US 7,983,990 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2006
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Engate LLC
• Original Assignee: Engate LLC
• Inventors: Jarvis, Lawrence M., Bennett, James D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fischer; Andrew J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cheung; Calvin K
• Application Number:
  US11/559,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,709 Days
• Field of Search: 705/59
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/332 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/04 Segmentation; Word boundary detection
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention provides attorney terminals which operate using an outline for storing, associating and managing case evidence, case law and work product for a given lawsuit at issue. Accessed through attorney terminals, the outline is structured based on a hierarchical categorization of the lawsuit into the law and fact at issue. Associated with each categorization entry in the hierarchical outline are groupings of case law, case evidence, relevance and draft discovery information for rapid access by the attorney. Each categorization entry in the tailored outline provides instant access to case law via headnotes, treatise selections, seminal cases, and preset searches. The disclosed invention also automatically: 1) tracks the use of Exhibits in a proceeding; 2) generates draft portions of a pretrial order including jury instructions; and 3) generates time-lines for analysis and use during a proceeding. Draft interrogatories, document requests and deposition or trial questions are also provided.

Claims

1. A method of managing legal proceedings with a terminal device having outline preparation capabilities, comprising:

transcribing text from one or more spoken questions and one or more spoken answers in a recording associated with a legal proceeding with a transcription system operatively connected to a case evidence library;

synchronizing the transcribed text with the one or more spoken questions and the one or more spoken answers in the recording associated with the legal proceeding;

storing evidence associated with the legal proceeding in the case evidence library, wherein the evidence stored in the case evidence library includes one or more scanned evidentiary documents associated with the legal proceeding;

extracting a tailored outline associated with the legal proceeding from an outline library that comprises a plurality of categorization entries, wherein the tailored outline includes a subset of the plurality of categorization entries;

displaying, via a terminal device operatively connected to the case evidence library and the outline library via at least one communication link, the one or more scanned evidentiary documents stored in the case evidence library;

displaying the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline associated with the legal proceeding on the terminal device; and

classifying the one or more scanned evidentiary documents displayed on the terminal device with one or more of the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline displayed on the terminal device, wherein the one or more scanned evidentiary documents are classified with the one or more categorization entries in response to an association instruction on the terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more scanned evidentiary documents stored in the case evidence library include interrogatories served in the legal proceeding, responses to the interrogatories served in the legal proceeding, and text corresponding to interrogatories and the responses.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the evidence stored in the case evidence library further includes the text transcribed from the one or more spoken questions and the one or more spoken answers in the recording associated with the legal proceeding.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline correspond to areas of law relevant to the legal proceeding.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline correspond to areas of fact relevant to the legal proceeding.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the tailored outline organizes the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in a hierarchical framework having one or more information groupings and one or more pointer structures that represent relationships among the subset of the plurality of categorization entries and the one or more scanned evidentiary documents.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein classifying the one or more scanned evidentiary documents with the one or more categorization entries includes adding a new pointer structure that represents a relationship between the one or more scanned evidentiary documents and the one or more categorization entries to the hierarchical framework.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adding a textual annotation to the one or more scanned evidentiary documents, wherein the textual annotation corresponds to a textual input in the association instruction; and

classifying the one or more scanned evidentiary documents in the case evidence library with the textual annotation.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adding a voice annotation to the one or more scanned evidentiary documents, wherein the voice annotation corresponds to a voice input received at the terminal device; and

classifying the one or more scanned evidentiary documents in a the case evidence library with the textual annotation.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the case evidence library and the outline library in one database or separate databases.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a search query from the terminal device, wherein the one or more scanned evidentiary documents are displayed on the terminal device in response to determining that the one or more scanned evidentiary documents have one or more criteria that match the search query.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the tailored outline in the outline library or a memory associated with the terminal device.

13. A system of managing legal proceedings with a terminal device having outline preparation capabilities, comprising:

a transcription system configured to transcribe text from one or more spoken questions and one or more spoken answers in a recording associated with a legal proceeding and synchronize the transcribed text with the one or more spoken questions and the one or more spoken answers in the recording associated with the legal proceeding;

a case evidence library operatively connected to the transcription system and configured to store evidence associated with the legal proceeding, wherein the evidence stored in the case evidence library includes one or more scanned evidentiary documents associated with the legal proceeding;

an outline library comprising a plurality of categorization entries; and

a terminal device operatively connected to the case evidence library and the outline library via at least one communication link, wherein the terminal device is configured to;

extract a tailored outline associated with the legal proceeding from the outline library, wherein the tailored outline includes a subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the outline library;

display the one or more scanned evidentiary documents stored in the case evidence library;

display the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline associated with the legal proceeding; and

classify the one or more scanned evidentiary documents displayed on the terminal device with one or more of the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline displayed on the terminal device, wherein the one or more scanned evidentiary documents are classified with the one or more categorization entries in response to an association instruction on the terminal device.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more scanned evidentiary documents stored in the case evidence library include interrogatories served in the legal proceeding, responses to the interrogatories served in the legal proceeding, and text corresponding to interrogatories and the responses.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the evidence stored in the case evidence library further includes the text transcribed from the one or more spoken questions the one or more spoken answers in the recording associated with the legal proceeding.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline correspond to areas of law relevant to the legal proceeding.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in the tailored outline correspond to areas of fact relevant to the legal proceeding.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the tailored outline organizes the subset of the plurality of categorization entries in a hierarchical framework having one or more information groupings and one or more pointer structures that represent relationships among the subset of the plurality of categorization entries and the one or more scanned evidentiary documents.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein to classify the one or more scanned evidentiary documents with the one or more categorization entries, the terminal device is further configured to add a new pointer structure that represents a relationship between the one or more scanned evidentiary documents and the one or more categorization entries to the hierarchical framework.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the terminal device is further configured to:

add a textual annotation to the one or more scanned evidentiary documents, wherein the textual annotation corresponds to a textual input in the association instruction; and

classify the one or more scanned evidentiary documents in the case evidence library with the textual annotation.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the terminal device is further configured to:

add a voice annotation to the one or more scanned evidentiary documents, wherein the voice annotation corresponds to a voice input received at the terminal device; and

classify the one or more scanned evidentiary documents in the case evidence library with the textual annotation.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the case evidence library and the outline library are stored in one database or separate databases.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the terminal device is configured to display the one or more scanned evidentiary documents in response to the one or more scanned evidentiary documents having one or more criteria that match a search query received at the terminal device.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein the tailored outline is stored in the outline library or a memory associated with the terminal device.