# Why Was the Court Reporter Looking At Me (on My Field Trip)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 18, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110 "2021-08-18T18:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/1 "2021-08-18T18:43:46Z")
And I have to ask you, whom else than my fellow board members to answer this question? Because it has vexed me for years. It also might be a good question for a lawyer, especially one who has been to court a time or two. Anyways, in Fall of 1981, I was just starting my eighth grade. And we took a field trip to the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit. Now just to repeat, it was a field trip. And I was only 13 years old too. Yeah, it was an interesting experience. But at one point we got to sit in on an actual trial (I believe that’s why they call it ‘open court’). Interesting case. It seems these Lesbians were living together. And at one point one of them attacked the other with the intent to kill. At one point a little boy associated with the case was on the witness stand. And he was about to mention a crime unrelated to the one at hand. ‘I object! I object!’ the defense attorney screamed, drowning him out. You just can’t pay for an experience like that. Am I wrong? Anyway I was merely a young spectator, as I said. But at one point the court reporter started leering over at me, as she furiously typed something down. I was embarrassed beyond belief. But even other people in the court were interested. What did she see in me? Now just to be clear, even at that age I was introverted and very well-behaved. I certainly wasn’t causing a commotion. So why was she looking at me? And what was she typing down? I’ve literally wondered all these years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/2 "2021-08-18T18:50:23Z")
Maybe she thought you were the type of person that would say something like “It seems these Lesbians were living together”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/3 "2021-08-18T18:52:59Z")
How in the blazes would we know (or even begin to speculate.) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/4 "2021-08-18T18:56:09Z")
She was a prevert, and later had to answer to the Coca-Cola Company. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/5 "2021-08-18T18:57:21Z")
A court reporter would be writing down every single thing being said. It seems like the sort of thing you could ‘get into the zone’ about and not really pay attention to where your gaze is falling. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/6 "2021-08-18T19:00:41Z")
There was an enormous booger hanging from your nose. She wasn’t leering, she was thinking of the chestburster scene from _Alien_. I still, all these years later, can’t believe you didn’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/7 "2021-08-18T19:01:08Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > It seems like the sort of thing you could ‘get into the zone’ about and not really pay attention to where your gaze is falling. Back in college I used to be the goto person to type papers (as in, someone handwrote it and I’d type it for them). The question I’d always get when I was done was if the paper seemed okay and everyone was always confused when I’d reply ‘I dunno, I didn’t read it, I just typed it’. And it was true, I really wasn’t consuming the materiel, it when from my eyes to my hands. I could usually even carry on a conversation while I was doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/8 "2021-08-18T19:02:11Z")
@pulykamell Well, you could certainly speculate 🙂 . And as I said, maybe someone with trial experience (like a lawyer) could then take an educated guess. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/9 "2021-08-18T20:12:06Z")
How do you know they were Lesbians and not Bisexuals or simply Roommates? Inquiring Minds want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/10 "2021-08-18T21:10:15Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > She was a prevert, and later had to answer to the Coca-Cola Company. Even if she got the President of the United States on the phone? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/11 "2021-08-18T21:16:02Z")
Opening arguments? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/12 "2021-08-19T00:45:16Z")
The court reporter is recording a transcript of the trial. Everything said by the Judge, attorneys, and witnesses. She is not recording the quirks of the spectators, FFS. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/13 "2021-08-19T14:08:51Z")
The OP should just get his hands on the unredacted transcript. It likely includes the court reporter’s flow of consciousness in-between reported court speech. I expect this one includes “A little boy is staring at me for some reason. I stared back for quite a while as I was too focused on recording the blathering of the defense attorney to remember moving my gaze appropriately around the room.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/14 "2021-08-19T14:38:19Z")
Somebody stared at you forty years ago. And you’re asking us why. Do you really think you’re going to get an answer? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/15 "2021-08-19T14:45:22Z")
Your fly was unzipped. She was noting it to put into your permanent record. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/16 "2021-08-19T14:46:05Z")
You missed that EVERYBODY was looking at you. And they secretly recorded everything you said or did. And we…er…THEY still are. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/17 "2021-08-19T14:49:48Z")
I’ve never seen _The Truman Show_, but I have heard about it. Just sayin. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/18 "2021-08-19T15:41:59Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > It seems like the sort of thing you could ‘get into the zone’ about and not really pay attention to where your gaze is falling. Once when I was in university, I was sitting in the cafeteria reading or working on a problem or some other scholarly thing. As I was looking up from my books and working the problem over in my mind I noticed the woman at the next table facing me get up, walk around the table and sit with her back to me. Rather pointedly, I thought. I was obviously staring at her and didn’t realize it. Can’t blame her for thinking I was a creep. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/19 "2021-08-19T16:47:59Z")
I was about to start my post with “meanwhile, on another message board…” but I doubt she’s still thinking of you, even if she’s still alive. So let’s instead imagine a bar in downtown Detroit in the fall of '81, where a court reporter is enjoying an after-work cocktail with some colleagues. “Hey Karen, how’s the killer lesbian trial going?” “You know, it’s weird. We had some middle schoolers watching today, and one of them just kept staring at me.” “Boy or girl?” “Boy, maybe 13. They called the victim’s kid to testify, the defense had a meltdown, there was all this commotion, but this kid was just staring at me the whole time. I just started staring back at him, and he didn’t even blink.” “He probably just had a crush on you. Want to get another round?” ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110/20 "2021-08-19T20:31:22Z")
You might try looking her up and asking her. Or members of her family, if she’s already like, dead or something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-court-reporter-looking-at-me-on-my-field-trip/949110.md?page=2)