![]() #5 Spells Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (Without Flinching)Ĭourt reporting in cases with expert witnesses can be kind of like a recurring college nightmare wherein you have just walked into a class and are forced to give a demonstration in a lecture hall to hundreds of people on something you have never heard of in a language that doesn’t exist in order to graduate.Įxpert witnesses can present a huge challenge when speaking in technical jargon. Here’s a little secret: inside that calm, collected demeanor is a peak performer dominating a high-stress job. The speed at which speech unfolds coupled with the ever-present stress on your reputation would send the strongest minded individuals’ heads spinning. That is, every stroke on your stenotype is transmitted to screens viewed by the judge and/or attorneys. Now, let’s layer on another! You’re tasked with the responsibility of realtime court reporting. Shorthand notation or not, this is a harrowing endeavor. Imagine typing at breakneck speeds while attorneys yell over one another, someone is losing a lung to a coughing fit on one side of the courtroom, the witness is mumbling incoherently and her nerves are propelling her speech into warp-drive. Yes, it’s true that court reporters utilize shorthand and type in a sort of code to keep up with the 300 words per minute being spouted in a court proceeding, but let’s throw in another level. But what if that transcript was a requirement? You might have thrown the notebook aside and opted instead to record the lecture. Your pencil scrawling across the notebook (not to date myself too much) or your fingers clicking away on your laptop, I’m sure you quickly realized how difficult it can be to keep up. You’ve probably tried to write everything down on a “very important” subject in a college class once. Transitioning from the comfort of an “unnoticed fly-on-the-wall” to the center of attention in the highest profile case of your life is a lot of pressure, to say the least, but what are some of the daily challenges you can find a court reporter silently dealing with in every courtroom across the country? #3 Fingers That Push The Stenotype’s Known Physical Limits Simpson trial, it is imperative to find a court reporter who can flip the switch at a second’s notice and become an on-the-spot public speaker. Naturally, it is important to find a court reporter with attention to speed, accuracy, and physical endurance, but as Womelsdorf has demonstrated in this ultra-high-profile case, rivalling that of the O.J. It is easy to think of court reporting as a typing job. #2 Your Court Reporter Is Secretly An Extrovert You’d be hard-pressed to find a court reporter who can tackle this behemoth of a task better than she. Imagine spending an hour transcribing verbatim full force for nearly an hour then having to immediately dictate that hour back to the court. She read over 30 minutes during one recitation and close to an hour during the next with virtually no breaks, save for a sip of water. Ginny Womelsdorf Is An All-Star Court Reporter #1 Commands The Courtroom Like A BossĪs if accurately transcribing a lengthy court proceeding with laser precision at faster than light speeds - at least it may feel like that - isn’t enough, Montgomery County Court Reporter Ginny Womelsdorf commanded the spotlight for nearly 90 minutes last week in Bill Cosby’s high-profile sexual assault trial when she was thrust center stage asked to read back the testimony of three witnesses. Let's dig into a few of the special super powers that make court reporters the unsung heroes of the courtroom. Do You Have What It Takes To Perform Like The Best Court Reporters? From the most recent notorious Bill Cosby trial to stoicism and cheetah-like reflexes, we have highlighted just eight of the traits that high-performing court reporters share. ![]()
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