News Scrapbook 1986-1988

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Daily Transcript (Cir. D. 7,415)

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. 0 . 127,454)

~AN 9 1987

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I ,, 1888 " C~~el~o~~=!~~~:1~::., D-San Diego, are r~ the lawyer donations, the S~n Diego idea County Law Library Justice Foun- Savings to lawyer clients is the dation and the county Board of main reason Simmons intends to Supervisors. press for teleconferencing as far as Simmons, after reviewing the he can. Hi report on the courtroom experiment results, concluded that project includes results of a survey teleconferencing is best used on , howing that most of the lawyers routine civil, non-evidentia_ry involved saved time - and hearings such as status, trial th refore the client saved money. readiness, discovery conferences,

o Te~tin; Of l eJecoiiference Mostly Successful It Does Save Time,But Does Every Lawyer Want To Reduce Clients' Tabs? ByP ULINEREPARD an Dleto 0.;Jy Traa.,rnpt St.trWrlt,r bri f experiment in conducting court hearmgs by telephone last ye r andicat ,d that teleconferences work They IV( time, money and and

ex parte hearings and law and mo- tion. He suggested voluntary teleconferences for settlements, particularly when the case is sim- ple, and involves out-of-town counsel with a high level of client control. The professor also found benefits for criminal cases, for bail review, arraignment or discovery hearings. Looking at reality, though, Simmons noted the Judicial Coun- cil of California had adopted, back in 1985, a requirement for all state courts to come up with lo.:al rules authorizing teleconferences in some civil matters. But as of last November, only a tiny number of courts had reported that they had done so - two of the 58 superior courts, and none of the municipal courts. "The overall response ... is dismaying but not surprising," Simmons wrote rn his report. "It seems cl, ar that the 1pposition we experienced from some San Diego Superior Court Judges exists statewide and is probably based upon the same reasons.. .inherent resistance to any new procedure, fears that it will introduce new problems ofJudicrnl aum inistration and oppositiun to 'gadgetry ' "We believe 1t is manifestly dear that unless some form of legislative compulsion ,s brought to bear, the telephone conferencing innovation will move through our trial courts with the speed of a glacier." In an interview, Simmons added he thought it "unethical" for the courts not to ISe it, considering the savings to citizens who are paying the lawyers. He said he didn't believe the county bar association would op- pose teleconferencing, and noted that attorney Mark Saxon, of the bar's Superior Court Committee, worked with him on the project. Attorney Charles Bird chaired the effort, joined by Superior Court Executive Officer Bill Pierce and others. And Simmons said he hopes to ensure that the county installs cir- cuitry capable of handling telecon- ferencing as its new telephone sys- tem is installed. On that point, Simmons may not have to worry. A special projects manager for the county chief ad- ministrative officer said the new Conte! system can handle it. "We will be able to do telecon- ferencing on all the phones - the wiring will handle it," said Vicky Pion. "It will be just a matter of putting the equipment on the end of the lines..Not. all employees will have it. "Placing additional wires into the system won't be a big deal. I don't see it as a big expense." Simmons said he'd like to see one out of every three courtrooms i !' the county equipped with a speal; phone. Pion said the new sy~· will not only handle te'leconfer• cing, but is planned to expand video conferencing. The law professor stated that he already has a rough draft of pro- posed legislation for limited, man datory teleconferencing. "I have good reason to believe wf can get the legislation draftee quickly . If it's submitted by Feb- ruary, and goes to the Assembly Judicial Committee and the legislative tasks get done, it could be signed and effective Jan. 1, 1988. I think it can happen." / ;

Out of 20 lawyers responding to the survey after a teleconference with U.S. District Court Magis- trate Edward Infante, 10 percent said they saved more than 10 hours by not having to travel 150 miles or more to the federal courthouse. Seventy percent said they saved less than five hours' time, while the remaining 20 percent fell be- tween six and 10 hour . Some lawyers had only to walk across the street: so fee savings to clients ranged from $75 to $975. A majority - 56 percent - said their clients were saved more than $300 by conducting a hearing by tele- phone. Infante had used teleconferences last February through April on three types of non-evidentiary civil hearings. Over the same period, Vista Su- perior Court Judge Lawrence K11pilofi conducted civil law and otion hearings via telephone. Both judges ordered use of a teleconference mandatory but granted personal appearances where preferred. Of 16 lawyers who took part in Kapiloff's conferences, and responded to Simmons' survey, 40 percent reported their clients saved up to $100. Another 33 reported savings of more than $200, while the rest fell in between. The lawyers themselves saved anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours by not appearing in person. And, in all, a large majority of lawyers from both courts t ou t teleconferencing was at least as ef- fective as a personal appearance would have been - 90 percent in the case of lawyers in the federal court, 81 percent of those calling superior court. Also, 80 percent of the federal case attorneys thought teleconfer- encing a "very satisfactory" way, generally, of handling certain types of hearings, while the re- maining 20 percent thought it "satisfactory." Of the state case lawyers, 50 percent gave the process a "very satisfactory" rating, 25 percent "satisfactory," 6 percent were neutral and 18 percent thought it "very unsatisfactory." Kapiloff spotted a few problems - his phone lines could handle only two parties on the conference call at a time, and his court reporter had trouble distinguishing who was speaking. Both judges said the conferences went well, little time was wasted on pleasantries or irrelvant mat- ters. Simmons had some trouble get- ting as far as he did into the court- rooms. He'd hoped funding for the project would come from coopera- tive, major law firms as had hap- pened when the Los Angeles Supe- rior Court tried a similar project. ' But, he wrote in his report, "San Diego firms saw little time and cost savings to themselves from a tele- conferencing substitute," since most are located near the down- town courts. "Indeed," Simmons added, "a partner of one of the largest firms explained his refusal to donate by pointing out that any appearance time savings achieved...would reduce his firm's billings and cost him money." The $14,000 to pay for three AT&T ComKey speaker phone sys- tems, installation and line use

Tribune file photo USD COACH HANK EGAN OPENS CONFERENCE WITH BIG WIN Madden rebound basket puts Toreros on track Tribune Staff Report

ter Scott Thompson out of the ballgame. "In the first half, I was just trying to keep the offer.sc going," Leonard said. "We were just tak- ing -what the defense gave us. They took a lot away from Thompson and that opened things up around the perimeter." Portland scored the game's first five points, giving the team its biggest lead of the first half with 17:43 remaining. The Toreros took their first lead of the game at 13-12 when ThomJ)llon hit an eight-footer from the left baseline with 8:40 remaining before inter- mission. USD then expanded its advan- tage to 17-12 before Portland re- gained the lead 19-17 with a 7-0 run. The Toreros took a 22-21 lead into intermission when guard Danny Means hit a three-pointer in the final minute of the half. At that point, Madden had nine of his career-high 14 rebounds and Thompson had seven of his 11 points. Part of the reason Portland was able to stay close to USD was the Toreros' free-throw shooting. USD was just 5-for-11 from line. Thompson was 2-for-7, ending his streak of 33 consecutive free throws. USD forward Mark Manor, who scored H points, opened the sec- ond half with one of his two three- pointers for a 25-21 Toreros lead. Portland battled back for a 31-30 lead three minutes later when freshman guard Greg Anthony, who had a team-high 14 points, made a free throw. The teams traded baskets much of the remainder of the half be- fore Means scored four straight points on two layups for a 53-49 USD lead with 2:06 remaining. However, the Pilots tied the game 53-53 on a tip-in by forward Adam Simmons and a five-foot jumper by Anthony. Both teains I.ad opportunities to win the game in regulation, but came away empty. Thompson missed a short shot underneath after collecting a rebound with 12 seconds left. Portland controlled the rebound and called timeout to set up a play with nine seconds to go, but missed a last-second shot.

USD gu.ru:d-2aul Leonard was hllt'aiiil'cold for the Toreros last night. "I've been fighting the fever," said Leonard, whose hot hand led to 11 of 16 shooting fro'!l the field. His career-high 22 points helped the Toreros to a 61-59 overtime win against Portland in the West Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams. "It was a helluva ballgame," USD coach Hank Egan said. "They were really well prepared and took a Jot away from us." The victory was the fifth straight for USD (10-3 overall), which handed Portland (7-6) its first loss in seven home games this season. The crowd of 1,399 at Portland's Earle A. Chiles Center watched Leonard, the Toreros' senior guard, bum the nets for 18 of his game-high points in the second half. But it was a cold shot by Leonard that really left the fans steamed. USD had the ball with 39 sec- onds remaining in overtime and the score tied 59-59. Leonard drib- bled time off the clock before at- tempting a 17-foot jumper that was off the mark. No worry. Toreros senior forward Nils Mad- den was waiting under the basket to collect the rebou,d, which he converted into the game-winning points with 13 seconds remaining. Portland failed to get the last shot when junior guard Greg Atta- way dribbled up the floor on the ensuing play, but bounced the ball off his leg with t o seconds left to give USD thf' .11 and the ball- game. The teams were tied 53-53 after regulation and were tied three tames in overtime before Madden's decisive basket. "Paul got a good shot off and Nils made a great rebound bas- ket," said Egan, whose Toreros complete their two-game road trip tomorrow night with a con- ference game at Gonzag~. The Bulldogs opened WCAC pby with a 70-51 win last night against St. Mary's. Leonard, who entered the game averaging 10.2 points, said the op- portunity to score presented itself last night because the Pilots were concentrating on taking USD cen-

unknown, su pic1on ofsomethmg n w, a concern that it Just won't work And som lawyers be 1eve thr} may be mor • effectiv argumg d po, nt in person. "I got the~ ling attorneys want to • the al' Judge foe to face, look him in the eye," s:11d Superior ourt Judge Mack Lovett.

equipment 1s bar want to do ,mething that ot It can be a l' tand

"It was a nightmare,' ' Lovett recalled. "I was negative about this exprriment because of my experi- ence with attorneys and our own lack of support people to m ke it work. The idea I'm not so concern- ed with. There's no que tion that with advances in technology, there's a place for it." Courtroom teleconferencing found an avid suppo r in O· fessor Robert Simmons o Univer- 1ty ofSan Diego School ofLaw. He shepherded last year's test project, recently bound his findings into a report, and plans to lobby a pair of loc I legislators into spon- o ring a bill to make teleconfere ces mandatory in some types of hearings. Simmons said both Assembly- man Larry tirling, R-La Mesa, and Assemblywoman Luc K1llea, !Continued on Page 4 J

San Diego, CA {San Diego Co.) San Diego Union {Cir. D. 217,089) {Cir. S. 341 ,840)

JAN 9 1987

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JAN 8

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"uso downs Portland in OT By Jeff Baker :).., 'f 5 Special to 1be Union PORTLAND, Ore. - Nils Mad- sagging in on him, cutting him off, and I thought he did a great job hanging in there and being part of the offense by passing and moving the ball around." "That Anthony is a very talented kid, one of the best freshmen I've seen in a while."

Anthony, who had 14 points, scored the first points in overtime, but Thompson came back with a re- bound basket to tie the game at 55. Adam Simmons put the Pilots ahead with two free throws, but Mark Manor's rebound shot tied it at 57 with 1:06 left. "I'm glad we're finally going to the boards," Egan said. Leonard tipped the ball away from Anthony and scored on a breakaway with 38 seconds left in overtime, but the freshman came back and hit two free throws to tie it for the final time with 31 seconds left.

den's rebound basket with 13 seconds left in overtime gave the ~rsity of San Diego a 61-59 win over the Univei'sify of Portland last night in the West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball opener for both teams. The Toreros (10-3) escaped by scoring three times in overtime on rebound baskets. Portland (7-6) took 7-foot center Scott Thompson (12 points) out of the San Diego offense, but guard Paul Leonard picked up the slack with 22. "They deserve a lot of credit for taking Scott out of the offense," said USD coach Hank Egan. "They were

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The ball came back out to Leon- ard, who scored 18 in the second half, and took the shot that Madden rebounded for the game-winner. "I came off the pick and had an open shot, but I missed it," Leonard said. "Nils picked it up and put it back in." The Pilots had a chance to win, but Leonard and guard Danny Means harassed Portland freshman Greg Anthony until he turned over the ball with two seconds left. "Means played Anthony, and he did a tremendom. job," Egan said.

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