OTR Defined

OTR or "on the record" is a term often used in my area of legal practice. An OTR decision is a favorable ruling by a judge prior to a hearing. An OTR decision is based on evidence found "on the record" or more precisely "on the medical record."

OTRs are wonderful. Not only is the client granted a decision in a more timely manner, but the stress of and travel to a hearing are eliminated.  

Here are some of my OTR experiences:

On February 14, 2013, I had two hearings scheduled in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I submitted the required briefs in advance. The day before the hearings the Judge called to say he was granting OTRs on both cases. I no longer needed to make the trip. Happy Valentine's Day to me! Instead of battling it out with the judge, I got to use my newly created free time by having lunch with my beautiful niece.

One Monday morning I flew into El Paso and stopped for lunch at Whataburger (a Texas staple). It was there that I got a phone call from my case manager stating they had just received word the Judge was granting an OTR, no hearing was needed. And here I was, already in El Paso. I never even made it to the hearing office. At least the car rental agency had given me a truck to drive. For that, the trip was worth it.

In Harlingen, TX just a week later, I wasn't so lucky. My client and I walked into the hearing room. Immediately the Judge asks, "What's wrong with this case?" In other words, why are we here having this hearing? Similar story. Judge had granted the OTR, but someone had failed to communicate this to our office. For this trip, I was given a Fiat. It was not worth it.

The phrase "on the record" also refers to the time that begins when the court monitor presses a button on a recording device so that all testimony can be recorded for later use.

One day I drove all the way to Corpus Christi for a hearing that never took place because the recording device wasn't working. Similar story in Austin. We had one hearing that went smoothly (both because the recording device worked and because we won). But the other two hearings had to be rescheduled because recording equipment in two different hearing rooms did not work.

OTRs and being "on the record" are both important in my line of work. By writing about my experiences and putting them "on the record" via this blog, I hope to remember that sometimes being on the road makes being stuck in a hearing room worth it. And vice-versa.