Hidden
Duties of Court Reporting Services
©
COPYRIGHT HUSEBY, INC. 2008
When
a judge calls recess at the end of the day, all of the
participants in the trial go home to get a good night's sleep.
Except, that is, the court reporters.
Court reporting services involve more than typing or dictating
notes during legal proceedings. Those notes are useless by
themselves and if someone needs a copy of the full transcript,
it may mean a late night for the reporter.
Late
Transcripts Are Not an Option
At Huseby we know that when
someone needs a transcript from one of our court reporters, that
transcript needs to be complete, accurate, and on time.
An integral part of court
reporting services is providing documentation when needed.
This means that the reporter's personal life may get put on
hold. Officials don't request transcripts out of casual
curiosity. These are certified records of court proceedings and
when they are needed, they are needed no matter what.
However even legal professionals often don't realize just how
much is involved in producing a full document.
Transcript
Production
In
the past, court reporting machines produced documents in
shorthand that were gibberish to anyone but another reporter.
This output had to be translated into a full English document
that could be read by other people.
Today's transcription devices usually use Computer Aided
transcription which automatically translates the cryptic
reporter notes into human-readable text. However, as anyone who
has ever been embarrassed by a spellchecker's idea of correct
spelling, computer translation needs to be edited to ensure the
final document matches what was really said.
After translation comes research. The reporter must verify
everything from correct spelling of people's names to proper use
of obscure technical terms. The goal is accurate transcription
of every speaker's words, not necessarily accurate information.
If a witness claims that the world is flat, the reporter must
dutifully record the comment.
Once the reporter has a correct and readable document, it must
be printed and bound then delivered on time to everyone who
needs a copy.
Court
Reporting Services Involves Even More
Huseby provides court reporting through independent contractors.
As small business owners, these independent court reporters have
to attend to a variety of other tasks.
Record-keeping is often the bane of small business owners but is
also the key to successful and profitable ventures. Computer
software makes it easier to keep track of things such as
customer databases and tax payments, but the owner still has to
be conscientious about keeping information up to date.
Court reporters may hire clerical help so they can concentrate
on court reporting services. However hiring and managing these
personnel takes time out of the reporter's daily schedule.
Although the core duties are the same, reporters might have
different ancillary functions due to their home state
regulations. For example, the details of
California
court reporting services could be different than that of
reporters from
Virginia
or
Michigan
. This requires each court reporter to adopt a business plan
that fits their local needs.
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