Court Reporting (judicial reporting) is the transcribing or record taking of depositions, court proceedings, and other administrative hearings. The individuals performing court reporting are referred to as court reporters, shorthand reporters or court stenographers. Court Reporting is an invaluable service as the information recorded becomes part of a permanent, official record.
Court reporters are highly trained and skilled professionals that convert the spoken word into permanent records that later can be read, printed, researched and archived. Court reporting captures everything spoken by all present in the courtroom or at a deposition. Afterwards, court reporters prepare written, verbatim transcripts of the hearing or proceeding. These can later be requested by the litigants in preparing an appeal or by attorneys during the discovery phase when preparing for trial.
Court reporters often record the dialogue as spoken using a stenotype machine. Stenotype machines are similar to keyboards but use key combinations to form the words rather than single letters, allowing a faster process. A steno mask is often used as well. It is a hand-held device containing a microphone built into a soundproof mask which fits over the court reporter’s mouth. Its purpose is to allow the user to speak while not being heard by others and to block background noise from the microphone. The court reporter can repeat verbatim every word spoken and identify the speaker, indicate gestures and unspoken answers (head nods or shoulder shrugs, for example) and any other activities that take place.
Certified and licensed court reporters have the knowledge and skill set to work in many capacities outside court reporting such as closed (or broadcast) captioning, realtime captioning, webcasting and communications access realtime reporting or CART. Many court reporters are employed by independent firms such as Business Name, that provide court reporting services.
When requesting court reporting services one can expect a professional that possesses an excellent understanding of the principles, methods and techniques of court reporting. The individual has legal and clerical record keeping skills, understands legal, medical and related jargon and possesses advanced grammar and writing skills. They also have the ability to transcribe up to 200 words per minute at 95% accuracy. In addition, court reporters are certified through the National Court Reporters Association or NCRA. You can like them on Facebook.