Untranslated Shorthand, Audio Gap, and an Expedited Deadline
During a two-day bench trial in a Georgia state court, you are the sole certified court reporter. On day two, plaintiff's economist testifies for 38 minutes about lost earnings. Your CAT software later shows a six-stroke untranslated cluster at the precise point where the courtroom audio recording has a seven-second gap caused by a microphone dropout. The same witness used a similar phrase in a deposition excerpt that was read into the record ten minutes earlier. The attorney who ordered an expedited transcript for a summary-judgment motion demands it in five business days and says you should use common sense to fill the gap because the missing words are obviously about the discount rate. Your stenographic notes around the gap are legible but ambiguous between two terms. You have the audio file, your notes, and the deposition excerpt.
1. How should the ambiguous passage be rendered in the expedited transcript, and what does your certificate actually attest?
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Do not guess and do not import the deposition phrase merely because it sounds similar. The transcript should record what was said in this hearing, not what the witness probably said. Use the local inaudible convention consistently, such as '(inaudible)' or '[inaudible]', and preserve the notes, audio, and draft that show the gap. The certificate attests that the transcript is a true and correct record of the reported proceedings to the best of your ability; it does not attest to words supplied by inference. If the passage is material, tell the judge and parties on the record and ask for a stipulation, readback, or other resolution. If the word is later confirmed, issue a signed errata or supplemental page with notice, not a silent edit.
2. The attorney offers a bonus for a 'clean' transcript and says no one will know. What is your response?
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Refuse to alter content for a fee. A rush fee for expedited production is different from a fee for changing testimony, and even a rush fee should follow your normal scheduling and billing policy. Explain that you can deliver on time with the inaudible notation, but you cannot replace an uncertain word with a preferred word. Document the request and your response. If all counsel sign a stipulation identifying the words, the transcript may include the stipulation as a stipulation, clearly labeled, not as your transcription of the witness. If the court resolves the matter by an on-record correction, follow that procedure and preserve the original record.