BULLETIN OF THE ASSOCIATION OF REPORTERS OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS. Volume XXVI, No. 1 October PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

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1 Report me and my cause aright Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2 The Catchline BULLETIN OF THE ASSOCIATION OF REPORTERS OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS Volume XXVI, No. 1 October Dear ARJD Members, PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE In behalf of all ARJD members I send our most grateful thanks to Barbara Kincaid, Nathalie, Lloyd Hysan, and Richard Ross for planning and executing our recent conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Sincere thanks also to Lexis-Nexis, Loislaw, and Thomson West and their wonderful representatives for their attention to detail in planning the ARJD's special events and for the thoughtful, practical, and beautiful gifts they bestowed upon us... they really outdid themselves. What a wonderful time was had by all attendees... from our first night's bus outing for real Kansas City ribs; Judicial Center and Capitol tours; our visit to the Brown vs. Board of Education site; special events at the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame and Jazz Museum; baseball between the Twins and Royals; and our anniversary dinner at the Kemper Museum of Modern Art. Delightful dining surrounded by stunning art and celebration dancing to music from some great musicians. It was Wow! all the way. Local member Richard Ross anticipated our visit over many long years and several invitations. He surely outdid himself -- he was everywhere... from his hand-lettered "Welcome to Kansas City ARJD" taken by the fountain, through our visit to his court and offices, and all special events. He was also kind enough to provide each of us with a goodie gift bag bearing his own warm welcome greeting, specially the copies of his original artwork on note cards (my favorite is his "Walking through the woods... painting that he gifted to his mother in Richard also brought his teenagers along and they swelled the ranks as dance partners for members.

2 A couple of days into the conference, we were very sorry to learn that Dan Anselmo of Michigan had been called home due to the sudden passing of his brother. Our joint condolences were forwarded in the form of a signed sympathy card to Dan. I'm also sorry to relate that after our conference Edith Lavin's father has been very ill and she has been back home to assist him. We are including a color insert with this newsletter showing many of the sites we visited and some members enjoying the conference events. Plenty of photos left over to include in the next newsletter. Do you have any ARJD photos you wish to share with members... if so send them to me and I will include them in the next newsletter handout. In behalf of the ARJD I send our sincere thanks for the participation in Kansas City of our new members from Kenya, which certainly enriched our conference. We look forward to many more such exchanges. They undertook an enormously long journey from Nairobi to Kansas City just to be with us. Please drop them a postcard or note if you have a chance. If you can provide advice to them they will be very pleased. We will be meeting in Anchorage in 2007 and I have been in touch with Marilyn May, Clerk of the Alaska Supreme Court, regarding venues for special events. She has provided a wealth of information that the Executive Committee will review and discuss at our November meeting. Marilyn is also very willing to assist with our conference planning and has even suggested a speaker already. I have also contacted our vendor representatives and thanked them for their work on our 2006 conference and advised them of our initial plans for 2007, requesting their continued support. For more information on Alaska try or one of the many other related sites. Janette Bloom is taking over the job as Site Selection Chair from Lloyd Hysan, who has done an absolutely outstanding job for many years. Thank you, Lloyd. Frank Wagner is now leading the Electronic Publishing Committee -- look out for new and interesting items from them. We all should remain aware of what is happening in the digital publishing and electronic printing world -- its impact is all around us. New efficiencies are in the offing and we and our courts can be the happy recipients of such new technologies and vendor solutions. One change in our Court is the addition of a stenographer in the courtroom to hasten the speed by which oral argument transcripts can be transcribed, converted, verified, and posted on our website. The news media have been clamoring for change and this is a step in that direction. If you have new technology changes at your court perhaps you might like to share that news with ARJD members through this newsletter. Please mail them to our Editor, Cliff Allen. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Sincere regards, Wilma Grant ARJD President

3 New Members We should all extend a special thank you to Kathryn Bann, our Membership Chair, for her outstanding efforts in the recruitment of new members. We welcome nine new active members to the ARJD. Jean M. Ruskell is the new Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals of Georgia. The new Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals of Arkansas is Kristin A. Cordell. Susan Williams is the Assistant Reporter of Decisions in Arkansas. Three new members have come to us from Kenya: Michael Murungi, who is the Reporter of the Court of Appeals and High Court; Jo' Abuodha, who is Assistant Editor of the High Court; and Gladys Boss Shollei, of the Milimani Commercial Courts. We also welcome John O. Juroszek, Editor of the Michigan Supreme Court; Sophie Debbane, Legal Editor from the Federal Courts of Canada; and Marilyn May, Clerk of the Supreme Court of Alaska. Welcome to you all. Greetings from Kenya At our annual meeting in Kansas City this past August we were fortunate to have one of our newest active members address those in attendance. Jo'Abuodha, the assistant Editor of the High Court of Kenya, spoke to us regarding court reporting as a tool for judicial reform in Kenya. Since his return to Kenya Jo has written to us, extending his warm greetings. He writes: "My team and I were very delighted to participate with you in the just concluded ARJD Meeting in Kansas City. It was a fulfilling experience to us because being a very young law reporting outfit we lack some of the experiences and skills that most of the members had. It is our sincere hope that we will continue to participate with you as members of the association. We would appreciate any assistance or advice which you may offer either as individuals or institutions to enable us to improve our work. From this end, we will endeavour to attract more membership from Africa in order to give the association a more diverse outlook. Once again thank you and best of luck in your endeavours." Officers President: Wilma M. Grant, Supreme Court of the United states Vice-President: Edith Lavin, Supreme Court of California Secretary: Kevin Loftus, Supreme Court of Connecticut Treasurer: Truman S. Fuller, Supreme Court of Washington Past President: Barbara Kincaid, Supreme Court of Canada

4 Committee Chairpersons Education/Newsletter Editor: C. Clifford Allen, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Newsletter Publisher: Edward Jessen, Supreme Court of California Electronic Publishing: Frank Wagner, Supreme Court of the United States Honors: Richard D. Ross, Kansas Supreme Court and Appeals Court Membership: Kathryn M. Bann, Superior Court of Pennsylvania Nominating Committee: Shauna Thomas, Supreme Court of Montana Site Selection Committee: Janette Bloom, Supreme Court of Nevada Website Committee: Charles A. Ashe, New York State Law Reporting Bureau New Members Committee: Leah Walker, Supreme Court of the United States Next Executive Committee Meeting The next Executive Committee meeting will be held at the United States Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on Friday, November 17, The agenda items are being solicited now from the Officers and Committee Chairs. If you have an agenda item you would like us to consider please advise any officer. If you are in Washington D.C. that day please plan to attend. That Always Controversial Apostrophe and S An October 9, 2006, article in LegalTimes.com written by West Hartford, Connecticut, attorney Jonathan M. Starble, states that "[a]s one of its final acts last term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued Kansas v. Marsh, a case involving the constitutionality of a state death-penalty statute. The 5-4 decision exposed the deep divide that exists among the nation's intellectual elite regarding one of society's most troubling issues -- namely, whether the possessive form of a singular noun ending with the letter s requires an additional s after the apostrophe." As Ed Jessen noted, "With a lead paragraph like that, how can one not read the entire article." See Condolences to Edith Lavin Sympathy cards may be sent to Edith Lavin, Supreme Court of California, Office of the Reporter of Decisions, 350 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA Edith's father, Gerald Lavin, died on October 2. Mr. Lavin began his career teaching school in New York City and later, in Indonesia. Upon returning to the United States, Mr. Lavin worked as a corporate media writer, producing copy for print and film. In 1968, he began his career with the United Nations and, while working in the United Nations Development Program, he served as a senior officer specializing in communications and external relations, with duties that included writing speeches for U.N. Secretary-General

5 U Thant. Mr. Lavin enjoyed playing tennis, golf, and bridge, and was interested in history, the movies, and sailing. A memorial service was held in Annapolis, Maryland. *********************** ARJD Directory The copy of the directory that was circulated at the annual meeting was not, unfortunately, returned with the corrections that had been requested. Please take a look at the material appearing in the 2006 Directory. If there needs to be any correction to your information, please send an to clifford.allen@sjc.state.ma.us. Thank you. *********************** "Cub Reporters" Committee Leah Walker has been working hard to establish a New Members Committee that would provide information about the ARJD and would gather ideas from those new to our association. Leah is looking to make the committee a useful and vibrant part of the ARJD. Anyone who would like to help her achieve this goal should contact her. Retirement of the Superintendent of Documents at the Government Printing Office As those ARJD members who were in Kansas City might recall, we began discussing the importance of authentication of digital government information. Since then it has been announced that Judy Russell, the Superintendent of Documents at the Government Printing Office and the official most responsible for working with library personnel to establish an authentic digital collection of such government information has announced her retirement to take place in February Association of Reporters of Judicial Decisions President: Wilma Grant Manager, Publications Unit, Office of Data Systems Supreme Court of the United States Vice-President: Edith V. Lavin Supreme Court Attorney Supreme Court of California

6 Secretary: Kevin Loftus Reporter of Decisions Supreme Court of Connecticut Treasurer: Truman S. Fuller Reporter of Decisions Supreme Court of Washington The Catchline Editor: C. Clifford Allen Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Publisher: Edward W. Jessen Supreme Court of California Layout: Denise Lynch Supreme Court of California Volume XXVI, No. 1 October 2006 Visit our Web site at