The Run-on Sentence in Testimony
You are transcribing a deposition in a civil lawsuit. The witness, a construction foreman, is describing an accident. He says: 'So we was working on the third floor and I seen the crane operator he was swinging the load and it was windy and the load started to sway and I yelled at him to stop but he didn't hear me and then the load hit the scaffolding and the scaffolding collapsed and my buddy Joe he fell and broke his leg.' The attorney says, 'Let the record reflect that the witness is demonstrating with his hands.' You must produce a verbatim transcript. The deposition is being taken for use at trial, and the opposing counsel has indicated they will challenge the accuracy of the transcript if it is not exactly word-for-word.
1. How should you punctuate and format the witness's statement to ensure it is verbatim but readable?
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The transcript must be verbatim, so you cannot change the witness's grammar or wording. However, you can use punctuation to reflect the natural pauses and intonation. The statement is a run-on sentence with multiple 'and's. You should break it into sentences at natural pauses, but without altering the words. For example: 'So we was working on the third floor, and I seen the crane operator, he was swinging the load, and it was windy, and the load started to sway, and I yelled at him to stop, but he didn't hear me, and then the load hit the scaffolding, and the scaffolding collapsed, and my buddy Joe, he fell and broke his leg.' You may also use dashes or ellipses to indicate pauses, but avoid changing words. The attorney's statement should be on a separate line, prefaced by 'Mr. [Attorney]:' or 'The Court:' if the judge is present. The non-verbal demonstration should be noted as '(Witness demonstrates)' or as the attorney stated. The key is to preserve the exact words and order, using punctuation only to aid comprehension.
2. What are the risks of editing the witness's grammar for clarity, and how does that relate to the ethics of court reporting?
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Editing the witness's grammar would violate the ethical duty of accuracy and impartiality. The transcript is the official record, and any alteration could misrepresent the witness's testimony. In this case, the opposing counsel may challenge the transcript if it is not verbatim, and editing could lead to accusations of bias or inaccuracy. The court reporter's role is to record exactly what was said, including grammatical errors, slang, and dialect. Punctuation and formatting are allowed to make the transcript readable, but they must not change the meaning or the words. Therefore, you must transcribe 'we was' and 'I seen' as spoken, not correct to 'we were' and 'I saw'. This preserves the integrity of the record and upholds the reporter's ethical obligations.