In some ways being a Court reporter is like being a concert pianist. The intensity. The focus. The keys and the harmonious combinations they create. Living in a world of sounds. You may even think it looks like I am playing the piano as I work.
But unlike a pianist, my work is also legal. Full of human drama, with stories of those who suffered some of the world's most serious crimes. The Courtroom drama: Arguments put forward from all sides, from all perspectives. The legal terminology, a complicated and relatively new legal system, and the procedural issues that come with it.
"Words fly away, but writing remains."
We sit behind our keyboards and must type everything, everything, everything that we hear. We are responsible for delivering the transcripts of the hearings, written transcripts, every day after each hearing. We also have another function, which is to provide real time, or live, transcripts to the hearing participants. What we provide is verbatim, which means nothing is missing.
.jpg "The Taskmaster")
.jpg "The Courtroom Pianist - Photo Story")