Importance of Obtaining a Qualified Court Stenographer

“The appellate process can take two years,” Salnick said. “I do know the transcript in this case is tremendously long and the court reporter has already asked for at least one extension to get it together.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/13/dalia-dippolito-released-florida-jail_n_960146.html

Obtaining a qualified stenographer or court reporter for a trial or deposition is crucial. With deadlines and upcoming trial and appeal dates looming, the last thing an attorney should have to worry about is when they will receive the transcript.

When scheduling depositions, ensure that any hearing or trial dates are conveyed to the scheduling coordinator so that an appropriate court reporter can be reserved and transcript delivered on time. If trial or a hearing is the next day, it is likely that an experienced realtime reporter or a stenographer will be required.

When deciding on a court reporter or court stenographer for trial, one must first check with the court and inquire whether the court has official reporters. If not, it should be determined who is responsible for obtaining a stenographer. For example, in Maryland, court reporters in some counties are employees of the state. In Virginia, however, it is the responsibility of the attorneys to arrange for a court stenographer. In either situation it is important to convey your turnaround and technical requirements to the court or court reporting agency before trial begins.  Will rough drafts be needed at the end of each day? Will realtime be needed during the trial to annotate important portions of the proceedings? Will a final transcript be needed before the next trial day to impeach the witness or cite previous testimony? Will experts or colleagues attending from a remote location need to view a realtime feed?

If the court-appointed stenographer is unable to meet any of the above requirements, you may need to request that an independent court reporter is brought in to meet all of the needs of a trial, especially one that will be lasting weeks, months, or years. The judge will need to designate the stenographer as the official record keeper of the proceedings. It is common for attorneys in an ongoing litigation to develop a relationship with a particular agency or court reporter and will request their services for trial. The court stenographer is familiar with the parties in the case and also has a current list of any terms and spellings needed to create the most accurate transcript.