The Expedited Deposition: An Undecipherable Phrase, an Off-Record Marking, and a 9 p.m. Demand

Do not guess, and do not leave a blank.

1. Mark the passage using the consistent convention required by your style manual or the ordering party's format - commonly "(Inaudible.)" or "[inaudible]" - and use the same form throughout the transcript. A blank or a fabricated word is worse than an acknowledged gap, because both go out under your certification.
2. If a proper noun is phonetically clear but the spelling is not, a bracketed phonetic rendering is acceptable where practice permits, e.g., "[phonetic] Marchetti" - but only when you heard the sounds; never when you did not.
3. Preserve the audio and your notes on that page; note the timestamp so the passage can be replayed by others.
4. Notify the noticing attorney in writing of the gap with page and line, so the parties can resolve it by stipulation on the record, by a further listen with the parties present, or by court direction. That notice should be factual - what you could not hear - not a request to supply the words.
5. Do not certify a transcript in which you have substituted your best guess. A certification attests to accuracy; an admitted gap is accurate as to what you heard.

If a later stipulated correction is agreed and placed on the record, the transcript is corrected through the rules for correcting a certified transcript - not silently on your own initiative.

Report what the record shows; do not manufacture the missing event.

• The marking colloquy happened while the record was paused. The transcript should not contain an invented "(Exhibit 7 marked for identification)" line, and the off-record discussion among counsel must not be reconstructed.
• References to "Exhibit 7" that occur after the record resumes are transcribed verbatim, exactly as spoken. The transcript will show a reference to an exhibit whose marking colloquy is not in the transcript - that is an accurate picture of what happened.
• The exhibit index should reflect exhibits of record per your local practice; where a marking is not of record, flag the gap rather than listing it as though a colloquy occurred.
• Action: notify the noticing attorney, factually, that Exhibit 7 was marked while the record was paused, so that counsel can re-establish the marking on the record - by a stipulation, a statement on the record, or a resumed session. That notification is not legal advice and does not tell anyone what to do.
• If the parties later stipulate on the record, that stipulation is transcribed and the index follows it.

Do not add, delete, or rearrange page references to make the off-record marking appear seamless.

Acknowledge, decline to release unilaterally, and route the request to the proper channel.

• The certified transcript is the official product. A rough draft is uncorrected and uncertified; distributing it as though it were the record invites reliance on text you have not yet verified.
• Your stenographic notes and audio are your working materials. Their release is governed by court rule, stipulation, subpoena, or court order - not by a party's unilateral demand. Which parties are entitled to the transcript, in what format, and on what schedule is set by the notice, the rules, and any stipulation, and here the noticing attorney (who ordered the transcript) has not responded.
• Do not destroy or alter anything; preserve notes and audio in accordance with the retention rule.
• Reply in writing to all counsel: confirm receipt, state that the certified transcript will be produced on the ordered schedule, and state that you will not release a draft or the audio to a party without the agreement of the noticing attorney or an order of the court. Copy the noticing attorney again.
• If opposing counsel presses, offer to submit the question to the court; a short letter or motion to the judge resolves the dispute without you deciding entitlement.

Do not send files to personal email addresses, and do not treat urgency as authorization.