Army court reporter honored with Judge Advocate General award
Court reporters worldwide are required to accurately and quickly transcribe depositions to ensure that everything said is included. The career has never been known for its easy or unimportant work, which is why one army court reporter, Staff Sgt. Ana Hairston, was awarded the 2013 Sgt. Eric L. Coggins Award for Excellence. Hairston is a reporter for the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 101st Airborne Division.
The award, according to the Fort Campbell Courier, goes to those with "superior" legal skills and virtues, and Hairston was nominated by her coworker, a civilian court reporter Kim Rodriguez.
"To get nominated for the Coggins Award, you have to be willing to go that extra mile to do everything that you can to help your Soldiers or any other Soldier who needs assistance or even looks like they need to have assistance," Rodriguez said to the news source. "It doesn't necessarily have to be the Soldiers she works with on a daily basis. It can be anybody that needs help."
As a court reporter, the news source said that Hairston trains other reporters, transcribes courts-martial, reviews the materials and assists paralegals in their work. Hairston, as well as civilian court reporters, is vital to the court process, as the award shows. Anything said during a deposition can be the determining factor in a case, so having accurate records is just as important to keeping the legal process just. When looking for a court reporter, an experienced and qualified reporter with high-quality equipment can ensure that depositions are recorded correctly.
