Saturday, July 31, 2010

The Significance Of The Court Reporter Role

By A Noton

TV shows and movies do not accurately depict court reporters do much more than type court proceeding transcript. Not just relegated to court, they also help make accurate transcripts of conversations, speeches, legal proceedings, and other times when it is important to record verbal exchanges on paper. Often these are used for a record and sometimes as legal proof. They are an extremely important piece in legal proceedings. They ensure complete and accurate documentation. Sometimes they assist the judges and the attorneys by not only organizing the records, also searching through them for the information they need. Well versed in courtroom procedure and in administration, they sometimes even have suggestions for the judge and the attorneys. It has been increasingly common that they help provide services, like translation or closed captioning, for those who are hearing impaired so that they can know what is going on in the courtroom. The court reporter role has expanded from the person making written accounts of court proceedings, to doing so many other things.

Court reporting isn't just cut and dry. There are a few different ways it is done. The most often seen and associated with court reporting is the way where they use stenography. All statements would be recorded by a stenographer.

A similar yet different approach is the Communications Access Realtime Translation (CART). In this type stenotype machines are connected to a computer. This helps the hearing impaired because what the stenographer types is seen on a screen. No matter their role in the court room they will know everything that is being said.

While there a various ways of record keeping, different areas need court reporters besides court. When there a hearings and the public attends, they are often in use. They help in documenting the thoughts and opinions that the people have about specific decisions and possibly legislation affect.

Conventions sometimes need records of verbal statements. The people that could not attend can read a record of the happenings. This could be any type of convention including business meetings, seminars, or even award ceremonies.

Insurance companies sometimes want investigation done into a person who filed a claim. An investigator is sent to question them. Stenographers are used to generate an accurate transcript of all of the questions and all of the answers given. This simple record can lead to a claim being either approved or denied.

It is not uncommon for corporations to have transcripts of every meeting professionally done. Corporations can be either banks, or sometimes condo associations. Most corporations that need this type of service go through stenographer companies.

Court reporters are somewhat a jack of all trades. They don't just stenograph and create accurate, easy to read transcripts for court cases, but they also organize them such that if some information is needed, they are expected to retrieve it. They are used for recording speeches, meetings, and anything else where word for word accounts being recorded are critical. It is often that their transcripts are needed in the appeals process. In addition, they set up assistance for those hard of hearing or otherwise handicapped. Needless to say, the court reporter role is much more important and involved than most people think.

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