(The original of the following article was published in the Milwaukee Law Journal in 2002. Following are innovative changes in technology and process since the original publication.)
The introduction of computers to the court reporting industry in the mid-1970s opened the door to many new reporting products and services and is ultimately creating greater capacity for litigators. Computer-assisted transcription (CAT), the process of having a computer convert a reporter’s stenographic notes into English, was the advent of a technology that has shaped today’s world of wire reporting. Just like every other industry, court reporters are now part of the fast-paced, technologically advanced world of iPads, the Internet, etc. [1]
The following is a brief case scenario incorporating the many services currently available from the tech-savvy reporting firm in discovery or discovery and at hearing or trial:
A week-long series of fact witness statements begins after discovery documents are filed by all parties. Deposition transcripts are produced in full-size and condensed paper (up to 16 pages per physical page) along with digital PDF versions [2] that have the evidence indexed and linked to each case within the testimony for instant retrieval, and in ASCII files, in the many formats available, for text search on the computer through case management or filing software judgments.[3] A week later, the lawyer travels to a remote location to testify a witness. In order for the remote reporter to be able to accurately transcribe in real time (immediate live transcription of the spoken word, viewable on a computer screen), a word list containing the various unique terms from all statements was emailed. earlier in the case. Several opposing attorneys chose not to attend in person, choosing instead to receive the real-time ASCII feed, in addition to video and audio via remote video conferencing., live on their desktop computers in their office via a standard Internet connection, taking personal notes and chatting online with co-counsel, raising objections as needed via video conference.[4] A lawyer was stranded in a remote location but still attended the deposition on his iPhone. At the completion of the deposition, the real-time stream, essentially a draft ASCII file, is stored on the attorneys’ computers for use in preparation for the next deposition (before the certified transcript is produced). The annotated version was emailed to staff or a colleague to draft a motion.[5] The video and audio were also stored online for immediate review.[6] An attorney was on a flight at the time of the deposition and was viewing the real-time text feed on an iPad via the plane’s internet connection, which he was then able to annotate on the plane in preparation for the next deposition.
All along, reporter scheduling was handled through a secure login to the reporting company’s online scheduling manager, producing both electronic and printed confirmations.[7] The attorney used a secure Internet connection to view activity reports, download and view ASCII files and exhibits., and check the deposition schedule on the reporter’s network system 24/7. There was some last minute information needs, deposition location, previous deposition transcripts and evidence, which the attorney was able to get on his iPad/iPhone using his mobile app. An exhibit believed to be contained in the large banker’s box disappeared, but the smartphone app gave access to that exhibit and all others in the case.
A series of three expert witness depositions is now scheduled, two in New York on Monday and Tuesday, and one Wednesday in Los Angeles. The first two days will occur with daily, real-time delivery, with the Los Angeles expert (Wednesday’s witness) receiving both days of live testimony via streaming video/audio/text, plus an email of the draft ASCII at the end of each day to prepare for your statement.[8] Tuesday’s transcript requires additional delivery attention when Wednesday’s witness email was down. The reporting firm arranged with a local business to receive, print, and deliver the transcript within an hour. Two of the attorneys were unable to make the trip to Los Angeles, so they received a real-time feed at their respective offices, where they also viewed and participated in the deposition via remote videoconference. Remote video conferencing was also used for the LA expert who needed to be dropped off at his office, using a standard computer with a video camera and Internet connection.
Videotape services were requested for the three experts with picture-in-picture production so that the witness and referenced documents could be viewed simultaneously. Afterwards, the video was synchronized with the ASCII text file, the exhibits were also linked to the text., and stored on DVD, portions of which will be used in a big-screen trial presentation for impeachment purposes.
All attorneys plan to receive real-time transmission of transcripts and delivery of certified copies of transcripts daily at trial so that they have the necessary tools for witness preparation and prosecution when appropriate. Previous testimony from all witnesses and previously scanned exhibits now reside with them in court on the attorneys’ computers. If they discover that a transcript or evidence file is missing, it can be retrieved immediately by connecting to the reporting company’s online access. One of the attorneys requested a portable video file that would be compatible with his trial filing app for her iPad.
Currently, at the forefront of all these technologies is real-time translation. As described above, this service has provided great assistance to attorneys in immediately tracking testimony in large case depositions or trials, or any complex litigation, where the litigation team needs to keep pace with events as they unfold. occur (and make them available to the hearing impaired). ).[9] When compared to the costs of overnight or daily rush copies, real-time is actually less expensive. You still have the costs associated with a final certified transcript from the reporter, but you would also have if you had ordered a rush transcript; furthermore, with realtime the approximate version is already available when the day’s procedure is concluded. More capacity, time saving and less expensive – it’s worth it!
How does real time work? The real-time court reporter connects your computerized court reporter via cable or wirelessly to your laptop containing software that translates the reporter’s keystrokes against a global dictionary of words written by the reporter in their reporting theory.[10] As the reporter presses the shorthand keys, the computer quickly compares those strokes to the reporter’s dictionary and displays matches and “untranslated” (raw shorthand for which there is no match) on the computer screen. The same results are exported from the reporter’s computer to software (LiveNote, Summation, CaseViewNet) on the attorney’s computer for monitoring, annotating, problem coding, and digest.
A real-time feed is not edited and will most likely contain some errors. It is not suitable or permitted to be used for citations in court proceedings because it is not a certified transcript.
Complex technical cases require the reporter to prepare for real-time by inserting single-case terminology into their dictionaries so they can produce a more accurate real-time feed. The more experienced and skillful the reporter, the more developed the dictionary, the more controlled the speakers in the forum, and the better the real-time results.
Be sure to ask for a reporter whose real-time skills you’re already familiar with, or when traveling, ask for a certified real-time reporter who has been screened and certified by the National Association of Court Reporters. For more information on real-time and other reporting services, contact your local court reporting agency.
[1] It took several years for court reporters and the reporting technology industry to realize the benefits of using these new technologies. Today’s court reporter can hardly exist without them.
[2] Linked (or Hyperlinked) Documents – Creates a connection to an external document that can be viewed instantly when clicked. Now the attorney can view the transcript and see each exhibit as it is mentioned in the text.
[3] PDF documents are now the dominant and most universal file format used by computer users around the world to view text and graphics, and have become the standard over the last 10 years.
[4] Remote video conferencing is all the rage in 2012: the ability to use video conferencing technology between portable computing devices (iPads, laptops, etc.) and standard video conferencing equipment (Polycom, Tandberg) over the Internet. Unlike Skype or Google Hangouts, reporting companies use encrypted products for added security and stability.
[5] Legal video and audio of depositions can be stored in the cloud for immediate review over the Internet.
[6] Products such as TextMap, Summation, and LiveNote export a document containing the attorney’s work product (markup, annotations, etc.) that can be shared with team members.
[7] Tech-savvy reporting companies offer online portals to set up and track reporting schedules, download and view transcripts and evidence, and access calendar and activity reports.
[8] The video and text transmission makes it possible to attend the deposition and view the text in real time live from anywhere with an Internet connection.
[9] The federal government’s ADA requirement that all television networks be closed captioned by 2006 has caused a loss of our real-time court reporter talent pool, creating a shortage. There is now competition between reporting companies and captioning companies for real-time writers. This shortage gave the federal government an incentive to pass legislation that recently approved financial grants for reporting/closed captioning training programs across the country. These schools now offer scholarships to encourage more students to enter these programs so that the ADA closed captioning mandates can be met.
[10] It is now standard practice to receive a real-time stream via wireless Bluetooth, as an alternative to a wired connection.