Virginia Lawyers adjust to high court arguments heard by phone

By Peter Vieth BridgeTower Media Newswires RICHMOND, VA - A lawnmower, a balky mute button and some audio delay issues were among brief distractions in an otherwise successful first session of telephone oral arguments for the Supreme Court of Virginia April 14. The faceless experience was "weird," reported Jay O'Keeffe of Roanoke, who handled two of the appellate arguments back-to-back. Lawyers called in and were connected in a conference call link. Others could listen in on a web-based live feed. The audio-only session called for some adjustments, said court Clerk Douglas B. Robelen. There was no "All rise" command, but there was an introduction of the justices and the traditional recitation of the "Oyez" directive, Robelen said. In the midst of one lawyer's persuasion, a humming sound grew louder and louder until Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons said, "It sounds to me as if someone is vacuuming their office." "I apologize, your honor. I had the phone on speakerphone and a neighbor is mowing his lawn," the lawyer replied as he switched off the speaker function. Each session began with the clerk confirming connections with the lawyers and then doing a roll call to make sure all the justices were on board and able to hear the advocates. On the live feed, the audio was clear, for the most part. Robelen said one lawyer's voice seemed to shift in quality as if he were using a cellphone that moved about his face. He advises lawyers without a headset or earbuds to hold their phones steady in front of their mouths. The experience seems to suggest a headset of some kind might be a plus. Speakerphones and cellphones propped on a shoulder might not be ideal, if only because of unplanned background noise and poor voice quality. Robelen spoke up before one session to say he could hear a delayed feedback signal that distracted from the session. In an interview later, he cautioned lawyers not to have the live feed from the website on while using the conference call function. There could be significant delay between the two audio signals, he said. He also reminded all lawyers on the connection to mute their phones until it was time to speak. O'Keeffe posted an online report after his double duty session. He said lawyers were told to call in for orientation and an audio check 15 minutes before the session started. Timing is tricky for those arguing. Without yellow or red lights to signal the status of the clock, Lemons would speak up to remind appellant advocates when they started running into their reserved time. O'Keeffe said he used a stopwatch function on his watch to keep track of time. Using the timer function on his iPhone is not helpful, he said, since the phone goes to sleep halfway through an argument. "I'm sure there's an easy fix, but finding it would cut into my bike time," O'Keefe quipped in his essay. O'Keeffe said he found it a plus to be able to pace around while opposing counsel was talking. "You can physically work off the tension and nerves while keeping your energy up," he wrote. For those listening at home, someone with the IT staff at the court played spacey jazz music during the recess to maintain an audio feed. How spacey? Look up "A Trail of Broken Hearts" by Ivaavi. Published: Thu, Apr 23, 2020