Bankruptcy Hearings Come to Your iPod

Last summer we had news of a pilot project in which audio recordings of bankruptcy hearings were going to be posted online, as .mp3 files, so that those who didn’t attend a court hearing (either in person or telephonically) can listen to what went on. Its a pilot project now. Three bankruptcy courts and two district courts are supposed to be participating. Since getting the news, I have been checking to find an audio file for a hearing which has been posted on the internet.

The idea was championed by Bankruptcy Judge Rich Leonard of the Eastern District of North Carolina. The two other bankruptcy court participants are supposed to be the Northern District of Alabama and the District of Maine. The two district courts are Nebraska and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

I was so captivated by the notion of being able to listen to bankruptcy court hearings on my iPod that I trolled the recent chapter 11 filings in those courts and found an .mp3! If you have a few nickels to burn, get on ECF and visit the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the case of In re D & M Land Company, LLC No. 07-00054-5-ATS, Docket No. 130. This docket entry is a pdf with the .mp3 file as an attachment. Look down the left hand side of the screen as it displays the pdf and you will see a paperclip. Click it and you’ll have a chance to save the attachment to your computer. This and the other file I tried left something to be desired in terms of sound quality and volume, but it worked.

I hope that this catches on. For one thing, it lets you know what really transpired in court without ordering a transcript. Also, tone of voice tells us so much. I can’t help but think that lawyers and judges alike would be on their better behavior if they knew that audio recordings of the proceedings were publicly available. Also, this will help me tackle that unproductive time I previously wasted listening to music and podcasts. Another way to separate the true bankruptcy attorneys from the poseurs.

Copyright Dean T. Kirby 2007. All rights reserved.