The importance of realtime court reporting cannot be understated. Trial proceedings and depositions need to be properly tracked, and not knowing what was said can be highly detrimental to a case's outcome.

Additionally, when it comes to witness testimony, courts must be diligent in keeping track of what was said. Take for example, one recent Wisconsin court case that was heavily reliant on expert witness testimony.

A former student sued Carthage College in Kenosha for negligence after she was sexually assaulted in her dorm room. Dr. Daniel Kennedy was to testify to the school's security deficiencies. At first, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin excluded his testimony.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit vacated the judgment and remanded the case, citing Wisconsin law. The state law says that allegations of negligence require a party to establish a duty of care. Furthermore, an expert witness is to be qualified by "knowledge, skill, experience, training or education."

"Dr. Kennedy's general testimony about the IACLEA security standards is admissible, as is his more specific testimony faulting the lack of a prop alarm on the basement door of Tarble Hall," Judge Diane Sykes wrote in the decision.

Additionally, the appeals court disagreed with the prior decision of Kennedy's testimony being unreliable. Previously, it was decided that he did not follow a reliable methodology in reaching his conclusions, however, the appeals court thought otherwise.

Witness testimony is critical, and can often push a case one way or another. Once a court deems the evidence admissible, it is essential that the information is not misrepresented. With certified Wisconsin court reporters, the testimony will be accurately recorded, without a question of what was said.

Previously, this blog discussed how court reporting was ranked as No. 4 on CareerCast's list of the "20 Great Jobs Without a College Degree." Not only can Milwaukee court reporters earn competitive salaries, they are working in a profession that is respected and admired.

Individuals who have strong attention to detail, thrive in a fast-paced environment and have great communication skills will be able to thrive in a court reporting position. A more recent report from CareerCast also listed this job as the 68th best in the country.

According to the website, the list was based on environment, income, outlook, and stress. With a robust hiring outlook, certified court reporters found themselves keeping pace with other positions that require a four-year college degree.

Rocco LaDuca covers crime and courts at the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, New York. He explained to The Wall Street Journal that he would not be happy doing anything else because people in the community are affected by what he writes.

"I'm not sure I'd be happy in another setting," he said. "I can't think of any job that would be as exciting or as fulfilling as this."

A similar mindset can be taken by Wisconsin court reporters. Even as electronic recording devices are hitting the market, the need for strong individuals cannot be overlooked. Machines can miss important pauses, glances or even quietly spoken words that a real person will not scale over.

By continuously providing realtime court reporting and services that are not possible with electronic reporting, the job market is likely to remain stable, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). On their website, the BLS explained that the number of court reporters is expected to grow through 2018 and that there will continue to be a need for accurate transcriptions of courtroom cases.

Previously on this blog, we've looked into the dire financial straits that many court systems find themselves in, particularly on the state level. One such instance is in California, where court reporting services have seen their budgets slashed amid a host of other monetary restrictions. These moves have created a sizable backlash from those both the public and those in the justice system. However, the realities of the U.S. economy have forced state administrations to make difficult decisions.

Now, though, it appears that the same problem is occurring on the federal level. As a result of the sequester, the government is now moving to make significant cuts across a number of departments, with the federal court system among them, according to a blog post on the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) website. In the coming months, it's expected that there will be significant staffing and resource cuts in order to meet the strict financial demands of the sequester.

"Around the country federal workplaces, including federal courts, have begun to lay off workers or shorten the work week through furloughs, as well as take other steps to work within the new budgets cuts," the NCRA wrote in the blog post. "However, few in the media have yet to note the sequester's effects on the federal judiciary, which has hurt access by the public to the judicial process and to the court system overall."

As a result of these financial restrictions, it is expected that there will be significant delays throughout the court system. With fewer staff, especially realtime court reporters, to go around, it will take longer for the legal system to arrange enough staff to move forward with proceedings.

Even with these cuts, local legal professionals know that no trial or deposition can occur without a Wisconsin court reporter performing the transcription.

Previously on this blog, we discussed the ethics involved in realtime court reporting, specifically dealing with conflicts of interest. However, one of the biggest duties of working in the legal system involves confidentiality, an aspect of the job that groups like the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) take very seriously.

While accuracy and speed of work are usually looked upon as the primary qualities in a court reporter, they mean very little unless the individual treats the case and the official record as confidential information.

"As 'guardians of the record,' NCRA members and the court reporting profession as a whole have traditionally and historically placed the highest value on the accuracy, impartiality, security and confidentiality of the records they are creating," the NCRA says on its website. "While recognizing the need for efficiency and the client's legitimate desire to manage costs, ensuring the confidentiality and security of the information contained in the records that court reporters and health professionals create remains a fundamental and inviolable obligation."

According to the Kramm Court Reporting, those responsible for working a particular hearing or trial must be able to produce a confidential – or "attorneys' eyes only" – copy of the record upon request. This plays a large part in the reporter's role of allowing those in the legal proceedings to look back upon the record. However, they must be able to perform this task without compromising the integrity of the case at hand. In order for the reporter to remain an impartial part of the trial process, he or she must not allow any details to leak out into the hands of unwanted parties. If this were to happen, the eventual decision could be swayed.

The best way to make sure transcripts for local cases stay confidential is to seek out the services of a Milwaukee court reporter.

When it comes to the discussion of realtime court reporting in the context of a legal procedure, there's a stark contract between its importance in the eyes of the public and in the eyes of those within the court system. For example, there are few in the local legal profession who don't have a healthy respect for Wisconsin court reporters. However, in the public sphere, the idea that the court transcript is vital to any court hearing is often overlooked.

This is why many outlets take the time to examine the idea of what a court reporter does and why the profession is so important. The latest such outlet is Sadaka Associates, a law firm that is based out of New York and New Jersey. In a blog piece posted in the website's blog, the firm detailed the specifics of the profession.

"A court reporter acts as an officer of the court," the article says. "While many court reporters record events that take place inside of the courtroom, others record meetings or depositions that occur at an attorney's office or other location outside the courtroom. When a court reporter is present, it reminds the participants that the meeting or deposition is part of the official record in the case and that everyone should behave and respond accordingly."

The article goes on to discuss the importance of a court reporter's role in providing the official record, especially in depositions. When an individual speaks, it's important that his or her statements are recorded before trial proceedings and that each side has an accurate copy of what those statements are. This way, should there be discrepancies at a later hearing, either the prosecution or defense can point out flaws in the testimony.

At first glance, when a Wisconsin court reporter is brought in to work on a local case, it appears to be a very straight-forward procedure: show up to the legal proceeding, transcribe what is said and turn the transcript in as evidence. However, as pointed out by the Wisconsin Court Reporters Association (WCRA), those in the profession must adhere to a strict code of ethics in order to maintain their impartial status in the courtroom.

These regulations pertain mainly to making sure there is no relationship between the court reporter and the particular case or hearing they are working at. One of the main issues, as laid out by the WCRA, is determining whether there is a conflict of interest between the reporter and the case. If the individual performing the transcription has any prior relationship with any parties involved in the case, he or she should operate within the context of full disclosure, lest the official transcript come into question at some point during the proceedings.

Another major concern when it comes to ethics for certified court reporters deals with illegal gifts or benefits. While this covers reporters receiving improper gifts from those trying to sway the official transcript, it also prevents reporters from giving information to those related to the case.

According to the National Court Reports Association code of ethics, all reporters must "refrain from giving, directly or indirectly, any gift, incentive, reward or anything of value to attorneys, clients, witnesses, insurance companies or any other persons or entities associated with the litigation, or to the representatives or agents of any of the foregoing." 

To ensure that the transcript of any deposition or trial is accurate, local legal professionals are encouraged to seek out the services of a Wisconsin court reporter.

Even in recent years, technological developments have led to sweeping changes in the way we look at realtime court reporting and how stenographers are expected to operate during a trial or deposition. Instead of using some standard gear that focuses on getting the words directly onto hard copy, today's certified court reporters are deploying services such as wireless streaming, videography and audio recording in their work. However, according to a recent article, not only are such services becoming more available, they're becoming standard procedure.

In an article for her website, Neeson & Associates, Canadian court reporter Kim Neeson looked at the emerging trends in the industry and how legal professionals have been forced to adapt.

"Shorthand reporting has led the way in integrating technology and the creation of the record," she writes. "From the days of paper notes, today's agenda is replete with the latest advancements."

The technologies she mentions in the article include: streaming to mobile devices, wireless networking and videography production, including transcript integration. She also discusses the challenges of dealing with multiple computer operating systems, such as iOS and Windows and video formats, especially MPEG 4.

According to Neeson, with new technologies come new services that require coordination between the court reporter and technology. If there is video streaming of a deposition or hearing, it is important that the stenographer and the captioning are in-step with what's showing up on the screen. In order for realtime court reporting to be feasible, the reporter and the technology must be in place which requires training for the individual, funding for the equipment and commitment from all parties to keep each aspect in line.

Local legal professionals know to only trust such challenges to a certified Milwaukee court reporter who has been trained to efficiently transcribe legal proceedings while also coordinating with the latest technologies.

As we've reported previously on this blog, court reporting services provide individuals with a steady career that has remained financially viable over time. In Kansas, though, there could soon be an enormous demand for more candidates in the field.

According to a report from The Hutchinson News, 25 percent of the state's certified court reporters are eligible to retire within the next three years – a number that is only going to increase further into this decade. Such an exodus from the field would not only create an unusually large gap in the job market, but it would also significantly increase delays for legal procedures in the state, should the positions stay unfilled.

Currently, the Kansas Court Reporters Association (KCRA) is moving to recruit more individuals to enter the profession, in order to negate future shortages. KCRA President Coleen Boxberger has contact many of her colleagues in the organization to encourage them to reach out to potential reporters.

Meanwhile, there are many reporters working today who are eligible to retire, but have yet to do so because of the underwhelming attitudes surrounding the U.S. economy. This portion of the workforce could put additional strain on courtroom staffing, should reporters choose to retire with improving economic conditions.

"I think some people are putting off retirement because of the economic situation and expenses," Boxberger said. "We only have three open positions (in the state) now, but it usually fluctuates up to six."

The efforts that these organizations are putting toward recruiting employees shows how much need there is for certified court reporters to be at any legal proceeding. Those in the local court system are aware of how vital Wisconsin court reporters are when it comes to quickly and accurately transcribing any deposition or trial.

As the Supreme Court continues to deliberate on the legality of gay marriage as part of the judicial process on California's Proposition 8, the work of a certified court reporter has hardly ever seemed more important.

Due to the widespread interest and buzz surrounding the proceedings, media outlets are scrambling to acquire court transcripts and audio recordings of the justices' arguments during a given session.

Given that the topic has been so hotly debated, a high level of attention should be expected. But with the official record of the Prop 8 case becoming such an intensely scrutinized document, it's becoming clear why court reporting services are so deeply engrained in the legal system.

A court transcript is of public record, but it's unusual that such a horde of media outlets have descended upon a document. Every legal proceeding is crucial and deserves the very best in transcription services. However, when it comes to the Supreme Court and a case of this magnitude, every single quote from each session is going to be picked apart and thrust into the national spotlight. Such publicity is great for the court reporting community, which often goes under-appreciated when it comes to high-profile cases. However, with the latest trends in online media, more outlets are directly publishing audio recordings of the testimony on websites for the public to listen to. Even as early ago as a decade, such exposure would have been unthinkable.

With this new take on the way the public consumes court transcripts, it's important for those in the local court system to ensure that all transcripts and recordings are of the highest quality. Should a nearby case become national news, it will fall upon the back of Wisconsin court reporters to accurately transcribe and record everything that is said.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that a documentary filmmaker is not entitled to access the unofficial backup court report of a 2007 rape trial, the Boston Globe reports.

Steve Audette, a documentary film producer, requested an electronic recording of the trial, which was a backup to the official print transcript. The court ruled against Audette, stating that he and the rest of the public had free access to the official court record, which was prepared and transcribed by a certified court reporter who had used an electronic recording as a backup to the transcript. According to Justice Ralph Gants, access to one version of the transcript did not mean rights to access the other.

"Where an official record of the proceeding [the transcript] is available to the public, a presumption of public access to an unofficial record is more likely to generate public confusion than to aid public understanding," Gants wrote in a 19-page unanimous opinion, according to the Globe.

The trial in question is that of Keith Winfield. According to the news source, the court reporter present at the 2007 trial was a voice writer who chose to use the recording merely as a reference. As a result, the court said that there had not been any restriction of an official court document. However, it also stated that, legally, the filmmaker would gain nothing by showing what could be gained by acquiring the backup recording. In order to gain access to the recording, an individual would have to prove that the legal system had barr​ed justice from being served by restricting access, the Globe reported.

This story is yet another example that, even with advent of recording technologies, courts still rely on Milwaukee court reporters to maintain a trial's official transcript.