There was a time when a Stenotype was just about all the
technology we Court Reporters had. All the reporting work used to be done using
a simple keyboard or stenotype. This procedure was long and boring as every
single thing had to be noted down in real-time and then be transcribed into
written transcripts. This changed when technology began to influence nearly all
the different industries.
The booming technology sector had a huge impact on all the
different industries & sectors and our judicial sector was no different. Technology
has greatly simplified the working and reduced the workload of every sector. Court
reporting too has changed quite drastically from the time of its inception. It
started back in the 80s when computers were taught to read the steno notes and
translate them into written transcripts.
Many new and improved stenography and machines came into
picture over the period of the time which made the whole procedure faster and
more efficient. But what really changed the court reporting procedure was the
introduction of audio recordings and voice writing methods. With new and
improved audio recording equipments, electronic recording method of court
reporting was introduced. This method generally has audio recording equipment
inside the court room to record everything that is being spoken. Later the
audio recordings are transcribed into written transcripts by the court
reporter.
Next in line came voice recognition which paved the way for
voice writing method. Voice writing includes a court reporter speaking whatever
is spoken inside the courtroom into a voice-mask. The Voice-mask insures sound
clarity, which is important as all the voice which is in an audio format is
converted into written transcripts with a little computer aided help. A voice
-recognition computer software generates written transcripts of voice audio
files automatically. Cool isn’t it?
Another major influencing factor has been the introduction
of videos inside Courtrooms. Depositions are recorded mostly via videos these
days which has improved the deposition procedure as a whole.
So I think it is safe to say that technology has revolutionized the Court Reporting world improving the overall functionality
and reducing the workload. Let’s wait and see what more it has in store for us!
