Court Reporters Keep it Straight

http://www.macombdaily.com -> Articles ->  Court Reporters Keep it Straight

Another great court reporting article I really enjoyed. The article is really in depth so I decided to take my favorite quotes out of all of the articles and respond to them individually one by one. It covers a lot of topics, but my favorites are here. The large quotations mean the beginning and ending of the quotes I took from the original article. Its a fantastic read (click here.)

"Macomb County Judge Diane Druzinski tried using the county’s video/audio system in her courtroom for a few months last year...but at her first chance she grabbed retired judge James Biernat’s reporter, Angie Little. “I don’t like video as much as I like a real live court reporter,” she said. “It ultimately produces a better record.”"

I really like this point. I understand judges wanting to try the latest technology, but overall I believe they'll find that it doesn't produce such a fine record as we court reporters can. Technology is always going to need a person to proof read, maintain, and update it on a constant basis. Court Reporters take a lot of the cost away from the court because not only do we buy machines that basically can do the same things, but we also take the responsibility for it working properly and producing a valid transcript. 

 "Chief Judge Mark Switalski said each judge chooses his or her preference, and the majority select a stenographic court reporter over an electronic audio-and-video recording. Switalski said, “When they say, ‘This is the best way to run my courtroom,’ I take them at their word.”"

I've always mentioned in class and in debates with those against the Court Reporting profession, that most judges and lawyers prefer to work with a person. Technology can be frustrating and can break down easily. Its expensive to buy a machine that fails later on, and then hire a company, another person, to fix it. You might as well stay with one person, and pay only one person, to do the job themselves. Its less frustrating, and much more professional when you're not cursing over a failed video camera or lost audio file. 

 "Nationally, some states are moving toward requiring a court reporter while others are moving toward mandating audio/video, according to Matthew Dreger, past president of the Michigan Association of Professional Court Reporters and recently retired reporter in Wayne County."

Even if courts require audio and video Court Reporters can provide both. A lot of top-line Stenography machines, and computers,  have build in microphones to do the audio, and these days the cost of a quality video camera isn't that bad. I know some Deposition companies offer audio, video, and the original transcripts. Basically, they knocked out three birds with one stone and one price. Court Reporters, again, prove to me the more logical choice than hiring three people to do the jobs individually.

" “You have human ears listening to make sure the record is correct,” said Deborah Doyle, Teamsters union representative for Macomb’s reporters. “When you don’t have human ears, you have people looking at a bar thinking, ‘OK, it’s recording.’ But no one really knows what was recorded until they go back and try to get a record off of it.”

There have been many cases nationally affected by poor recordings or by someone forgetting to activate the system, advocates say. "

Huge point here: what happens if someone forget to press 'record' on a video camera or on an audio file? You get lost testimony, potential lawsuits over the failure of having a record to prove what was said in the case, and a lot of unhappy, frustrated people. Court Reporters have to have their Stenography Machine with them to do their work. They won't forget to keep their hands moving at the machine, and as I mentioned above, a lot of the top-line machines include audio. Two methods of record keeping in one method!

"The need for court reporters is actually growing because stenographers perform closed captioning for TV and for hearing-impaired students. Reporters also are hired for depositions and other events involving sworn testimony. The U.S. Department of Labor in 2008 projected court reporting employment to grow by 18 percent over 10 years due to expanding opportunities. "

Personally, I want to be a captioner or work with the hearing-impaired (CART).  I'd probably do depositions on the side if I needed to, but the ultimate goal is to work with people who will continue to need us as time goes on. The Court can probably afford to upkeep technology, but colleges and students need people and will continue to need Court Reporters and Stenographers as time goes on.