Real-time court reporting helps the attorneys and judges review and refer to a trial transcript instantly. With real-time reporting, the lawyers involved in the case do not have to wait for days for a hard copy of the transcript. Reporting real-time can help the legal team to work cohesively with their client and the other attorneys present. Since it minimizes the delay, it helps you keep track of the current events and monitor the course of the case as it progresses.
When we say real-time, we mean the instant translation of the dialogs between the different parties inside the courtroom. The court reporter usually uses a shorthand machine or a stenotype to transcribe the words, numbers, and phrases. The modern stenotype uses real-time transcription software that can translate the short-hand coded phrases into English. The stenotype has 22 keys that can write numbers, words, and phrases as the attorneys, witnesses, defendants or judges as saying them. However, the same information appears on the screen in English. If there is a need, the legal team can choose to screen the transcript in court. It is a smart and useful way of providing all involved parties with a digital transcript of the proceedings.
What is real-time transcription?
Traditional transcription is not instant. It used to take a while for the transcriber to work on the shorthand and translate it into English. There are times when the whole team of attorneys is not present inside the courtroom during the proceedings. The presence of a real-time translation system allows the ones absent from the scene to check the details and react. It also helps them determine what action they will take and what objections they can make. Instead of spending time on reviewing notes and correcting them, the real-time transcription of the dialog allows them to conduct the cross-examination with a complete set of information. There has been more than one case in Seattle WA, where the attorney has found new clues from the witness accounts from real-time notes that have changed the direction of the trial.
There are several other integral benefits real-time reporting provides. Here’s a brief overview of the reasons attorneys and legal teams prefer having a skilled transcriber in the courtroom…
