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GA Court Reporter: Testimony (Question-and-Answer) Dictation

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Testimony (Question-and-Answer) Dictation

What this domain tests

This domain covers the format and accuracy of reported testimony: questions and answers, colloquy among counsel and the court, and non-verbal events that must appear in the record. It is the highest-speed component of the Georgia skills examination (225 words per minute) and the one where formatting mistakes most often survive because the words themselves are right.

Core rules

  • One speaker, one paragraph. Designations appear in capitals followed by a colon: THE COURT:, MR. PATEL:, MS. KIM:
  • Q. and A. carry the testimony. Capitalize the first word after the designation, and never merge a question and answer into one paragraph.
  • Examination headings sit on their own line: DIRECT EXAMINATION, CROSS-EXAMINATION, REDIRECT EXAMINATION, RECROSS-EXAMINATION, followed by BY MR. REED:
  • Objections and rulings are colloquy, not testimony. They go in speaker paragraphs at the point they occurred - not folded into an answer.
  • Parentheticals record events, indented and in parentheses: (Exhibit 5 marked for identification.) (Witness indicated.) (Whereupon, the jury was excused.)
  • Do not guess at names. Write the spelling as best you hear it and verify at the first break; a phonetic guess in a caption or index is a lasting error.
  • Flag the unknowable as (Inaudible.) or (Simultaneous speech.) rather than fabricating text.

Worked example

Dictated exchange: Where were you on March 3? I was at home. Objection, leading. Sustained. Correct rendering puts the question under Q., the answer under A., then two separate colloquy paragraphs: MR. REED: Objection, leading. THE COURT: Sustained. Reasoning: the objection is not part of the witness's answer and the ruling is the court's, not counsel's; misattributing either creates an appellate issue and a formatting deduction.

Traps that cost marks

  1. Attributing an answer to the examining attorney when the witness spoke.
  2. Writing 'THE JUDGE:' instead of 'THE COURT:' (Georgia practice uses THE COURT).
  3. Omitting a nonresponsive answer note or paraphrasing an answer to make it responsive.
  4. Inconsistent capitalization of party terms within the same transcript.
  5. Dropping bench-conference whereupon paragraphs, leaving gaps in the record with no explanation.