What Does a Reporter Do in the Court of Law?

Court reporting goes back to the 1st century B.C., when Roman emperor Cicero employed Marcus Tullius Tiro as a secretary and he used court reporting fundamentals, such as shorthand.

Identification

• Court reporters transcribe, word-for-word, everything said in a trial, according to Superior Court of California, County of Glenn. If the judge needs to hear a portion of the proceedings again, the court reporter will read it aloud.

Features

• Most court reporters use a stenographic machine to note shorthand. The stenographic machine has 22 symbols, which stand for certain words or letters.

Potential

• Although some courts use tape recorders, the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects court reporting jobs to increase between 2008 and 2018, because of the need for television caption writers and translation for those with a hearing disability.