Transcript Production, Formatting, and Certification Standards
Transcript Production, Formatting, and Certification Standards
This domain tests the reporter's ability to turn machine notes into a properly formatted, certified record. Formatting is not decoration: captions, line numbers, indexes, and certificates let judges and appellate courts cite the record precisely.
Core rules
- Use a consistent caption with court, county, case number, parties, and title of the proceeding. Identify the reporter and the date on the title page.
- Number every page and every line. Keep the standard line count and margins required by the court or contract; do not reflow pages after certification without authority.
- Include appearances, an index of witnesses and exhibits when required, and exhibit parentheticals at the point of identification or admission.
- Mark exhibits with the party's designation and exhibit number; distinguish marked from admitted. Keep a clean exhibit list.
- Certify only after scoping, proofreading, spell-checking names, and verifying the audio. The certificate states that the transcript is a true and correct record of the proceedings.
- Rough drafts and real-time feeds are not certified transcripts. Label them clearly and preserve the final as the official version.
- Corrections after certification should be handled by errata, stipulation, or court order, not by silent alteration.
Worked example
After certifying a deposition, the reporter notices that Katherine was typed Katherin. The reporter does not open the final file and change it silently. The reporter prepares an errata sheet identifying page and line, notifies counsel, and issues a corrected transcript with a revised certificate or follows the court's procedure. Reasoning: the certificate is a representation of accuracy; an unrecorded change undermines the record's integrity and may violate rules on transcript alteration.
Traps
- Certifying before checking speaker identifications.
- Mixing marked and admitted exhibits in the index.
- Omitting page and line references from errata.
- Sending a rough draft without a draft watermark.