A court reporter plays a critical role in the justice system. These highly trained professionals are responsible for creating a full verbatim record of all testimony presented in a trial court, hearings, deposition or other legal proceedings.

Reporters swear in witnesses, capture the verbatim testimony, handle exhibits, manage the proceeding to ensure the record is effectively captured, and certify that the record has been captured accurately.

As part of capturing the record, stenographers and digital reporters use versions of CAT software to convert either phonetic shorthand (in the case of stenographers) or audio (in the case of digital) into readable text.  After the proceeding, the reporter – stenographer or digital – will often work with scopists, proofers, transcriptionists to create the final transcript.

Digital reporters set up the audio recording equipment and conduct extensive testing, including verification of connectivity, stability of power sources, sound quality checks and redundancy measures such as supplementary recording capture software and/or hardware. Digital reporters swear in witnesses and mark and collect exhibits.

During proceedings, they note speakers, objections, when proceedings go off-the-record and play back testimony as needed. They also ensure a complete and accurate record by interrupting when necessary and maintaining control of the deposition. Throughout the proceeding, digital reporters continually monitor the audio recording equipment to ensure an accurate record. After the deposition, the record is securely transmitted for processing and storage for litigants.

No. There will always be a need for professional stenographers. Over the past few decades, the number of stenographers across the country has been in decline, creating critical delays in the legal system. Digital reporting expands more methods of capture to the court reporter pool and allows for a diversified group of highly trained professionals to capture the record, easing the reporter shortage and contributing to long-term accessibility in the justice system.

Digital reporting uses reliable technology that has been used in the nation’s court systems for decades to provide an efficient, reliable option to capture the record using secure technology. A digital reporter employs extensive training, skill, and sophisticated recording technology and software to provide auditory and visual confidence monitoring, as well as redundant backup systems, to ensure a complete record is captured.

Digital court reporters conduct extensive pre-hearing testing to ensure all audio and visual recording systems are working as expected and required before the proceeding begins.

During the hearing, a digital reporter continually monitors the equipment and makes annotations during proceedings that are linked to the recording to help with later transcriptions.

Humans will always be necessary in capturing the record, whether it’s via stenography or digital recording. Digital reporting requires a trained professional to be at every legal proceeding for the duration of the proceeding to manage the various administrative needs to ensure the proceeding moves forward and is on the record. Digital reporting does not remove people from the process. Rather, it supplements professionals’ work with advanced, purpose-built recording technology and software to ensure accuracy and access to the record.

A growing shortage of stenographers cannot keep up with the demand for creating verbatim records of legal proceedings. This shortage threatens a key function of the legal system’s operations, causing delays in litigation calendars and increasing the cost of litigation. Expanding the use of digital reporting offers an immediate solution to the stenographer shortage to alleviate the critical gaps and ensure access to justice. Digital reporting expands the methods of capture to the court reporter pool and allows for a more diverse group of highly trained professionals to capture the record.

With a growing shortage of stenographers, it poses the potential for delays in legal proceedings and escalating legal bills. Furthermore, when a court reporter isn’t present to capture the record, it can severely hinder the litigant’s legal options.

For example:

  • Victims of domestic violence seeking protective orders may have difficulty appealing the denial of a protective order because they don’t have a record.
  • In civil matters, an appellate court may be unable to review a party’s claim of error in the trial court.
  • In criminal proceedings, the lack of a transcript may affect a defendant’s constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.

Expanding more methods of capture to the court reporter pool allows for a more diverse group of highly trained professionals to capture the record and overcome these challenges.

Correct. It’s just the method of capture that varies. Digital reporters are an extension of a trained and qualified workforce whose methodologies in capturing testimony in court and in depositions may differ but whose roles are the same – to officiate the proceeding and protect the record.