N.D. Ohio LR 32.1

(a) General. The use at trial of videotape depositions in civil cases is

encouraged. Insofar as possible, the technology of videotape equipment should be

utilized to enable the jury to obtain the same factual presentation as would be obtainable

if the witness were to appear live in the courtroom. Counsel may, if desired, use multiple

cameras and be videotaped while interrogating the deponent or appear with the deponent

during all or part of the interrogation.

(b) Guidelines.

(1) Objective. The objective of each videotape deposition shall be to

provide a visual and audio record that will, as nearly as possible, approximate the

live appearance of the deponent before the trier of fact.

(2) Deposition Officer. The officer presiding at a videotape deposition

shall be independent of any of the parties or the counsel of any of the parties. The

deposition officer shall be a person authorized under the law to administer an oath

to the witness. The deposition officer may also be either the stenographer

recording the proceeding or the camera person recording the proceeding by

videotape.

(3) The Camera Person or Persons. Counsel for the party noticing the

deposition shall be responsible for providing the camera person or persons to

record the deposition by videotape. If such camera person or persons is other than

the deposition officer, such person may be anyone selected by the counsel

noticing the deposition, including an employee of counsel. It will be the

obligation of the counsel seeking the deposition to determine that matters of

staging and technique such as the placement of the camera(s) and any

microphone(s), lighting, camera angles, and backgrounds, as well as the use of

any demonstrations or exhibits do fairly, accurately and objectively reproduce and

record the testimony. Any objections as to any of the proceedings in the taking of

the deposition shall be accurately recorded and timely interposed so that the

opposing counsel, insofar as possible, may take corrective action. The Court shall

ultimately rule on all objections and make such orders as the Court deems

appropriate for the editing of any videotape deposition to prevent prejudice to any

of the parties to the action.

(4) Use of Date/Time Generator. There shall be employed at the

deposition a date/time generator to create on the videotape a continuous record of

the date and time.

(5) Commencing the Deposition. The deposition officer shall commence

the deposition by stating on the videotape record his or her name and business

address; the name and business address of the officer's employer; the date, time,

and place; the name of the deponent and the caption of the action; the identity of

the party on whose behalf the deposition is being taken; and the names of all

persons present in the deposition room. The deposition officer shall also swear,

on the videotape record, that he or she will record the deposition accurately and

abide by all provisions of this Rule. The deponent shall be sworn on the

videotape record by a person authorized to administer oaths.

(6) Going "Off Camera". The deposition officer shall not stop the

videotape recorder after the deposition commences until it concludes, except,

however, that any party may request such cessation, which request will be

honored unless another party objects. Each time the tape is stopped or started, the

deposition officer shall announce the time on the record.

(7) Changing Tapes. If the deposition requires the use of more than one

tape, the end of each tape and the beginning of the next shall be announced orally

on the videotape record by the deposition officer. In addition, at the beginning of

each tape, the deposition officer shall repeat the officer's name and business

address, the date, time, and place of the deposition, and the name of the deponent.

At the end of the deposition, the deposition officer shall state on the record that

the deposition is complete.

(8) Availability of Monitor. There shall be available to counsel

throughout the deposition a monitor on which they can view the videotape record

as it is being made.

(9) Exhibitions and Demonstrations. A deponent shall be permitted to

conduct demonstrations or experiments or reenact physical events during the

course of a videotape deposition. Likewise, a party shall be entitled to utilize with

the deponent any visual aids or exhibits in such manner as though the witness

were appearing live in Court. Counsel may appear with the deponent in the

videotape. Any opposing counsel may interpose any objection which he or she

deems appropriate to the use of such demonstrations, experiments, or

reenactments or visual aids or exhibits, and the Court shall ultimately rule upon

such objections and determine whether or not the matter objected to is to be

shown to the jury or edited out of the videotape.

(10) Need to Object Timely. Wherever objections are permitted by this

Rule, such objections must be timely raised so as to give the opposing party an

opportunity to correct the condition which is the subject of the objection.

(11) Recording. The party taking the deposition shall state in the notice

the method by which the testimony shall be recorded. Unless the Court orders

otherwise, it may be recorded by sound, sound-and-visual, or stenographic means,

and the party taking the deposition shall bear the cost of the recording. Any party

may arrange for a transcription to be made from the recording of a deposition

taken by nonstenographic means.

(12) Discrepancies Between Videotape and Stenographic Records. In the

event of any material discrepancy between the videotape record and the

stenographic transcript, the Court shall determine which record shall be submitted

to the trier of fact.

(13) Examination and Correction of Deposition Record. If requested by

the deponent or a party before completion of the deposition, after the stenographic

transcript of the deposition is completed and available for inspection, the

deposition officer shall notify the deponent of such availability. The deponent

shall be given thirty (30) days from receipt of such notice to review the original

videotape and stenographic transcript of the deposition and to request in writing

(or on the videotape record if it is still open) any changes or corrections in such

records.

(14) Waiver of Execution. Forty-five (45) days after the notice of

availability described in subsection (b)(13) is received by all parties, the original

of the videotape and stenographic reporting (together with all requests for changes

or corrections theretofore received) shall be filed with the Clerk, where it shall

have the same force and effect as a duly executed original stenographic transcript

of the deponent's testimony. The Clerk shall release the original videotape for

viewing only upon order of the Court.

(15) Certification of the Videotape Record. No later than ten (10) days

before trial, the deposition officer and any other technician employed at the

deposition shall file with the Clerk their sworn statements that the videotape is an

accurate and complete record of the deposition and that they have complied with

all provisions of this Rule and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure applicable to a

stenographic reporter or the deposition officer. The certification shall indicate

whether any review of the record was requested and, if so, shall append any

changes made by the deponent during the period allowed. Counsel for a party,

however, if in custody of the videotape record, may file the videotape record and

prepare the sworn statement and sign it as counsel. The sworn statement called

for by this section shall be served upon all of the parties.

(16) Custody of the Tape. The deposition officer shall maintain custody

of the original tape until it is filed with the Court. Parties may view the tape while

it is in the officer's custody, but only under conditions that make impossible the

erasure or alteration of the tape. The parties may agree that counsel for the party

noticing the deposition retain custody of the tape in which event it will be the

responsibility of such counsel to file the sworn statement called for under

subsection (b)(15) of this Rule.

(17) Editing the Tape. If any party desires to offer any portion of the

videotape record at trial, such party shall, no later than five (5) days before trial,

advise all other parties of the portions of the tape it wishes to offer. Any party

who believes that the portion so designated contains objectionable material may,

by motion, seek the Court's ruling on its admissibility in advance of trial. An

edited tape, eliminating material found by the Court to be objectionable, shall be

prepared at the expense of the party responsible for the original inclusion of that

material, unless the parties provide, or the Court orders, another method for the

suppression of the objectionable material or allocation of cost. Nothing in this

paragraph is intended to supersede the Local Rules concerning premarking of

exhibits for trial.

(18) Rulings on Admissibility. The Court, prior to voir dire, shall make

rulings as they relate to any videotape deposition filed in accordance with

subsection (b)(17) of this Rule, which rulings will include any orders that may

require editing of the videotape prior to its being shown to the jury. It will be the

responsibility of counsel proffering the videotape deposition to ascertain that the

final form of the videotape deposition as shall be shown to the jury conforms to

all such rulings. The purpose of such rulings prior to voir dire is to advise the

parties prior to voir dire and opening statements so that the parties will know what

evidence will be forthcoming from the videotape deposition.