More info on the exciting career of Court Reporting! A very important aspect of court reporting is proofreading. Remember, I said we are not the maker of the record, we are the keepers of the record. So our job is not to correct what someone said, but we are to correct typos and other errors we make when reporting.
When I was a beginner, I would print and proofread things over and over and over. Seriously, three times I would read through those puppies before I sent them out. It probably was wise at the time for various reasons, but I soon realized that I could read the same thing several times and probably always decide to change something (especially punctuation). I came to my senses finally and actually proofread only once on paper now, which is enough...not to mention it gets a little old. Think about it, I have already heard it once (when I was reporting it) and then I get to read it again on the computer, then print it out on paper and proofread it a little closer. I end up enjoying the same subject matter at least three times. Wahoo!
Having been a court reporter for 16 years, my skills have improved somewhat (I should hope) and I am able to insert punctuation as I'm writing, for the most part. I don't catch every semi colon or comma, and believe me, if things get hairy, punctuation is the first thing to go out the window. I can always add it later, but I have to get what they're saying!
I did decent in English class and understood grammar pretty well. I definitely don't always use the proper grammar or speak correctly, but I think I have a decent grasp on that, which comes in handy when proofreading...except that people don't necessarily speak in complete sentences, stay on the same thought and/or finish their thought before jumping to another one (like yours truly here). The dash is a reporter's best friend. I have never used so many dashes in all of my life, but let me tell you, it is a must to keep the flow of some dialogue going.
I often wonder if those reading their own testimony think, "She totally messed that up, look, I didn't even get to finish the answer." My response would be something like, "Yeah, well, I hate to tell you, you didn't finish that answer or any other one before changing your thoughts, and you actually did say the word 'so' every other sentence." It may not be pretty, but you said it. I heard you. I have always said that attorneys, judges and police officers should read their own testimony every now and then so they know exactly how what they say looks on paper. I think they would be shocked.
I had an attorney down south that said 'the' before every single sentence. I am not exaggerating. For a long time, I would write down every single time he said 'the' and then I decided it was more like someone saying 'um' out of habit. It didn't really affect (is that the right one?!) anything being said. I will take down 'um' if that is part of the sentence or answer, if they're hesitating or something, but if it's out of habit, I don't.
If you shake or nod your head, I write down (Shaking head.) (Nodding head.) If you say 'uh-huh' or 'uh-uh', that is what I write down. If slang is used, slang is what goes down. If you don't answer, I write (No reply.) Believe me, we have a solution to almost everything and if we don't know, we can usually ask another reporter and find out.
You might be wondering, if you can't change words and things, what are you proofreading for? Corrections made during proofreading (besides punctuation) might be capitalizing a proper noun, changing a numeral to the written word, making a paragraph or new line, etc. Also, we do occasionally misstroke on our machine and the wrong word comes up. It is not uncommon for that to happen, and spell check will not catch the wrong word. So let's say what I took down transcribed as 'here', but it should have been 'hear'. I would only notice that if I were reading over that. Something someone may never catch, but Court Reporters want it right.
We're kind of particular that way. At our seminar a few weeks ago, our table was talking about texting and how we can't stand to use short-hand and no punctuation in a text. It is so true. I don't always use the proper punctuation or spell out words on texts, but it does bug me. I almost feel guilty or like I am breaking a rule if I write 'u' instead of adding those two extra letters! I think this might become a problem in the future when our children can't spell out words too!
I can catch a typo a mile away (unless they're my own, of course). Reading the newspaper at times is painful because I wonder if they ever proofread their own articles?! And don't even get me started on what people write on Facebook, marquees and public signs!! Ugh.
One funny of mine that actually left my office and went out into the world of litigation...I didn't catch a typo in a parenthetical that I used in a transcript after a witness was excused from the stand. Normally, it would say (witness excused). This transcript said (witness executed). There is a very big difference there, especially if you're the witness, huh? I am sure I have had many, many more typos go unnoticed. I know I have caught some on my blog posts later on and wanted to crawl in a hole...because I pick apart anything else I read. I can always tell when I've rushed through something because I'll find the wrong word or double words or something like that. Oops!
Court Reporters aren't perfect, we just like to think we are, but if you want something proofread, bring it over. I'll pick it apart, trust me.
1 comment:
LOL! I hadn't heard the "execution" story. Too funny!
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