Court Reporting Profession Evolves With Technology, Budget Changes

Court reporting agency CourtScribes helps fair administration of justice by providing accurate records of proceedings.

The court reporting industry is in the midst of major changes, as budget cuts combine with technology to drive different ways of doing things.

According to The Jacksonville Daily Record:

Legal stenography has changed from long rolls of paper to digital transcription. Facing budget cuts, courts can no longer afford to have a stenographer in every courtroom and at every hearing.

Technology is allowing both sides to continue to survive and succeed.

In Florida, some proceedings still call for the presence of a traditional stenographer, while others are staffed by a recorder. Either one, though, is driven by technological change.

Court reporting agency CourtScribes has been at the forefront of technological changes in the profession. The company combines video, audio, and cloud technology with traditional stenography to offer unparalleled speed and accuracy in its verbatim record keeping.

CourtScribes process includes:

• An experienced court reporter oversees recording equipment and takes simultaneous notes. Digital annotations are time-linked to the recording so it’s a simple process to find and listen to actual testimony.
• Each primary participant in the proceeding is given a discreet sound channel so that each voice is distinct, eliminating confusion caused by cross talk. “This voice isolation feature permits a full and accurate transcription of exactly what was said — and who said it — because each channel can be listened to individually,” entrepreneur and professor Barry Unger writes in a white paper for the company.
• Because of the quality of the recordings, court reporters are less obtrusive than in more traditional court stenography. Unger writes, “The recording process captures all words exactly as spoken — then in transcription the audio can be replayed as needed to verify verbatim accuracy.”
• Lawyers or other interested parties can obtain copies of the digital recording as well as the transcript, and, “With digital annotations directly “hot-linked” to the audio, points of interest are located quickly and efficiently,” Unger writes.
• Notes and audio files can be delivered over the Internet. Unger writes, “Both log notes and audio files are transmitted over the Internet, reducing or eliminating shipping costs and delivery delays. Storage and archiving are efficient and compact. When the audio and log notes are saved as computer files, there are no cassettes to store, nor files of reporters’ paper notes to maintain.”