Ethics, Confidentiality, and Professional Conduct
What this domain tests
This domain tests the reporter’s role as a neutral officer of the court: impartiality, accuracy, confidentiality, and resistance to pressure from parties who want the record shaped.
Core duties
- Transcribe verbatim; do not edit grammar, tone, or hesitations to make a party look better.
- Stay neutral: no advice to attorneys, no commentary on testimony, no ex parte discussion of a case.
- Certify only what you transcribed and can defend.
- Keep grand jury proceedings secret under CPL 190.25, and honor sealing and in camera orders.
Handling requests
- If asked to change a transcript, explain the remedy: a stipulation of the parties or a court order, reflected in an errata sheet.
- If asked to produce a sealed transcript, refer the request to the court.
Worked example
An attorney calls and says, “Just fix the witness’s grammar in the transcript; it reads badly.” The correct response is to decline and explain that the transcript is a verbatim record, that corrections require the witness’s errata review or a stipulation, and that unilateral alteration would misrepresent the proceedings. The reasoning is not stubbornness: the certified transcript is evidence, and your signature attests to its accuracy.
Traps
- Discussing testimony on social media or with family.
- Keeping personal copies of sealed transcripts.
- Accepting gifts from a party.
- Making helpful edits that change meaning.
- Certifying a transcript you did not personally review.