Opinion ID: 2581730
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Discrepancies Between the Oral and Written Findings

Text: Lindsay's trial attorney did not incorporate in the written findings several of the court's oral findings although the court directed him to do so in the following language: I am going to direct Mr. Ford to prepare the findings and conclusions consistent with my oral findings and conclusions set forth here on the record and the final decree of divorce and any other orders necessary for Mrs. Lumpkin to obtain her benefits in the military retirement, et cetera. Despite these instructions, the proposed findings and conclusions failed to specify any duration for the alimony award. Nor did counsel submit a proposed QDRO, although the court had asked that an appropriate order be prepared and counsel had reassured the court that he was familiar with such orders. Furthermore, the written findings interject speculation about different values for the marital property, although at the hearing the superior court had explicitly adopted Avis's valuations. Counsel agreeing to draft written findings and conclusions for the superior court is essentially a scribe who must accurately memorialize the court's oral findings and conclusions. [28] Especially if the opposing party has no lawyer and is less able or less likely to mount an effective challenge to the proposed written findings, counsel must take extra care to ensure faithful and accurate renditions of the court's rulings. [29] If counsel has questions about what a court has ruled or perceives ambiguity, the proper course is to flag the issue so that the court may revisit it. An attorney's failure to submit written proposed findings conforming to the oral findings does not relieve a trial court of responsibility for confirming that the written findings reflect the court's thinking. [30] The responsibility here was shared. Counsel cannot expect the court to compare the tape of its oral findings and conclusions with the proposed written findings and conclusions; the court is entitled to assume that counsel will scrupulously comply with the court's request to prepare findings and conclusions that are consistent with the court's oral findings and conclusions. One result of the discrepancies in this case is an appeal that might have been avoided in whole or in part.