# Why are court reporters and sketch artists still needed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751 "2024-01-27T23:27:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LegendHasit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/legendhasit/32/8246_2.png) [@LegendHasit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegendHasit)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/1 "2024-01-27T23:27:21Z")
Watching a court reporter typing away during a an obviously filmed/recorded session why are court reporters and sketch artists still needed? In case the tech goes down? For media images (we rarely see artists sketches these days). And isn’t the typewriter plugged in and prone to malfunction? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/2 "2024-01-27T23:47:38Z")
> [@LegendHasit](#): > > Watching a court reporter typing away during a an obviously filmed/recorded session why are court reporters and sketch artists still needed? Court reporters are used in courtrooms that don’t have a video or audio record. Most still use court reporters. One advantage is parties can order “real time” transcripts for use at trial, or at least “overnight” transcripts. For the audio and video recordings, it takes a while to get a transcript. Sketch artists are used in courtroom that don’t allow cameras. (Some states and all Federal courts, essentially) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/3 "2024-01-27T23:51:40Z")
Court reporters have back-up systems. Even if computerized, the machines spit out a paper tape that records a keystroke representing every sound. Sometimes parties talk over each other or the record becomes garbled. Court reporters are trained to keep these statements separate, or if they can’t, to interrupt the proceedings (or the judge will) so that the record is clear. One of the most oft-used phrases I recall the judges I worked for using frequently during testimony: “Speak one at a time, please.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/4 "2024-01-27T23:54:04Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > One of the most oft-used phrases I recall the judges I worked for using frequently during testimony: “Speak one at a time, please That and “slow down, the court reporter has to get everything you’re saying.” I had a real fast talking witness in my last trial. The judge got a kick out of it when I told her “When I said we were going to move quickly through this, I meant we’d use less words, not talk faster.” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/5 "2024-01-27T23:55:22Z")
@Gary_Robson may be able to elaborate on this, having been a court reporter. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2024, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/6 "2024-01-27T23:59:34Z")
I had one court reporter with whom I worked for 13 years straight. We were sort of a package deal, staff-wise. I could always tell when things were getting nuts, because her eyes would close, her head would go down and she would be pummeling that machine for all it was worth. She was amazing, could take up to 3 people talking simultaneously – but not for a long time. It’s incredibly hard work. And as you know, their time spent in the courtroom is only half their day if they are producing daily transcripts. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/7 "2024-01-28T00:25:59Z")
I’ve never been in a court that had a court reporter. It’s always been variants of some type of tape or electronic reporting. When needed, I’ve been able to get next-day transcripts from electronic recordings. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/8 "2024-01-28T00:27:54Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I’ve never been in a court that had a court reporter. It’s always been variants of some type of tape or electronic reporting. Another way Canada is more advanced than us. (or has a weaker court reporter union) ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/9 "2024-01-28T00:33:02Z")
I was on a Federal Grand Jury once, in 1978, and the court reporter used a fountain pen and shorthand. No machine. I was quite surprised by this. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/10 "2024-01-28T00:39:18Z")
Do judges still ask court reporters to read back recent statements made by witnesses and counsel? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/11 "2024-01-28T00:44:06Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I’ve never been in a court that had a court reporter. It’s always been variants of some type of tape or electronic reporting. Florida courts that I’ve been in have an electronic recording system. There are microphones all over the courtroom (you have to mute the mic at your table by pressing a button if you want to talk privately to your client) ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/12 "2024-01-28T03:07:46Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Most still use court reporters Interesting. In my state, there’s a statewide electronic system. Sometimes in high stakes cases, a party or parties will pay for a court reporter so they have greater and quicker access to the record, but it’s very unusual. The down side of the electronic system is that when there are problems, they are not detected until after the trial is over. So for example, if a person’s mic was off or too far away, etc., you’ll just get a transcript back with “unintelligible” every time that person speaks. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/13 "2024-01-28T05:15:41Z")
I have hired a court reporter, for political conventions. She brought a laptop computer with special software, that was connected to the big-screen projector system, and she provided real-time captioning for the convention. It was astounding how well she could keep up with the speakers, and provide understandable captioning of the proceedings. Sometimes her spelling of names was a bit humorous (because she didn’t know the speakers), and sometimes the wrong words (homophones) appeared, but it was quite easy to follow the convention. Attendees greatly liked this, and we had it back for several years. They could provide a full transcript, cleaned-up spelling, speakers identified, etc. This was an extra-price service, which we didn’t need. There was a normal price for 1-week delivery, and extra charges for 2-day or overnight service. This was years ago. Now, I suppose AI is getting good enough to do this for most non-Court situations. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/14 "2024-01-28T05:40:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Do judges still ask court reporters to read back recent statements made by witnesses and counsel? Rarely in court, but common in depositions. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/15 "2024-01-28T05:50:13Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > This was years ago. Now, I suppose AI is getting good enough to do this for most non-Court situations. You’d think so, but based on the closed captions I see on TV shows, you’d be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![LegendHasit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/legendhasit/32/8246_2.png) [@LegendHasit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegendHasit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/16 "2024-01-28T15:19:52Z")
Appreciate all the perspectives! Sounds like court reporters still provide a valuable service and potential extras in real-time when needed. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/17 "2024-01-28T17:00:06Z")
Proofreader for court reporters here, a job I’ve been doing for three decades. Even when proceedings are being videotaped, attorneys usually will want a stenographic (machine) reporter to take down the testimony and colloquy, often with realtime hookups from the court reporter’s machine to the attorneys’ laptops so that all involved can see the transcript being created as it happens. Judges can have this too, during hearings and trials, and they love this! It’s another tool to help them ride herd on proceedings. I get the rough draft of the transcript file, proofread it for misfingerings, spelling, punctuation, looking stuff up, and return the corrections to the reporter – all via email. I’ve worked on 300-page highly technical transcripts that had to be delivered ASAP – getting chunks emailed to me during breaks in the deposition, sending back correction chunks – and the reporter is able to produce a final electronic copy within a few hours of the proceedings concluding. Why not just use the video recording for looking up things? Well, first of all, you’ve got to find the passage, watch it, process it into a form you can use. With an electronic written transcript you can do word searches and zip right to what’s needed, copy/paste it wherever, and save time. More than once in depositions I’ve proofread, if a witness argues s/he didn’t say something earlier or otherwise deviates from previous testimony, the attorney asks the court reporter to find and read back the relevant portion of the record. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/18 "2024-01-28T17:36:32Z")
I hope this isn’t considered a hijack, but does anyone know why courtroom artist sketches are so BAD? ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/19 "2024-01-28T19:19:12Z")
Well, there are ugly miscreants the artist can’t beautify, and then there are the monsters you don’t care to present as human. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751/20 "2024-01-28T19:22:58Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > does anyone know why courtroom artist sketches are so BAD? Just a guess, but maybe because they have to be done _quickly_. Nobody is posing for these portraits. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-court-reporters-and-sketch-artists-still-needed/996751.md?page=2)