A Brief Overview of the Different Types of Court Reporters
Court reporters are essential for accurate court proceedings. They are professionals who are trained in a special technique that involves converting spoken word into information that’s accessible to others. Also known as “guardians of the record,” they capture all the words spoken within a court proceeding. They prepare transcripts, verbatim, of the proceedings in order to help create the least biased replication of spoken information possible. They’re important for those who want to appeal. Attorneys, during the discovery phase of a trial, will use these records for preparation. Whether you’re hiring court reporter firms locally or abroad, consider the differences in these types of court reporting roles.
There’re six different types of reporters.
Scopist
They are the professional transcript editor for other court reporters. Scopists are different from other proofreaders or editors because they have the chance to compare a court reporter’s shorthand to the finished transcript. The scopist looks for mistranslate errors to help make sure that the record is as accurate as possible.
Officials
As one of the most commonly-known court reporters, they convert spoken word into text during courtroom procedures. They make the official verbatim transcripts that are utilized by litigants, judges, and attorneys. They’re the proverbial centerpiece of some of the most high-stake cases including government corruption lawsuits and trials and criminal trials.
Legislative
These court reporters work specifically with United States Congress and in state legislatures. They’re responsible for transcribing their proceedings.
Hearing
These court reporters are responsible for using verbatim techniques and equipment to capture, transcribe, and retrieve trial and pretrial proceedings. This category also includes stenocaptioners who are responsible for using computerized stenographic captioning equipment which arranges captions for both live and pre-recorded broadcasts.
Real-time
The difference between these reporters and others is that they’re trained specifically for broadcast captioning and real-time translation services, specifically for those who are hard of hearing and deaf. They provide near-instant translations.
Freelancers and Firms
Court reporting firms and freelancers are usually hired on a contractual basis by unions, associations, corporations, attorneys, and other groups who need records of things like stockholder meetings, convention business sessions, a board of director meetings, arbitrations, and more.
If you’re looking for any of the above court reporting services, consider Lowery & Associates. We can help with all your reporting needs or guide you to the right place to meet them. Lowery & Associates is a court reporting firm based in Oklahoma City.