Court Reporters and Confidentiality

Court reporters hear a lot of things -- they are the fly on the wall, the shadow in the corner, the silent partner to justice and are very often forgotten or not even thought about.  Court reporters have as much responsibility to maintain confidential information as anyone else. How can you trust that what happens in the deposition room stays in the deposition room?

There are three paths to maintaining confidentiality:

• ·       The government path:  Enter into a business associate agreement with your court reporter. Under HIPAA, court reporters are a business associate or subcontractor: “A person or entity that creates, receives, maintains or transmits [PHI] for a function or activity regulated by [HIPAA]” on behalf of a contracted entity or business associate.

• ·       The redacted path: Request information to be redacted from the transcript. There are eighteen identifiers under HIPAA that could be redacted. Among others, this can include addresses, email addresses, birth date, license plate numbers as well as medical admission and discharge dates.

• ·       The trust path: Some court reporters have security clearances that permit access to reporting confidential proceedings such as federal and state grand juries. Court reporters who are members of the National Court Reporters Association agree to abide by the code of ethics which requires members to: “Preserve the confidentiality and ensure the security of
  
  information, oral or written, entrusted to the Member by any of the parties in a proceeding.” And maybe the most important trust factor is the long-term relationship you establish with your court reporter.  When you work with someone over the long term, you know who is in the room with you and your clients and have firsthand knowledge of their commitment to preserving the confidential information entrusted to them.

Have a signed agreement, redact information if appropriate and know and trust your court reporter. Three paths to follow to ensure what happens in the deposition room, stays in the deposition room.

Do's and Dont's of Making the Record, Part 2

A few more tips on creating a clear, concise and accurate record:

Know your ABCs and your 1-2-3s

Rapidly spouting out acronyms and numbers can cause a lot of confusion. Many consonants have similar sounds so speaking clearly, taking a moment to spell the acronym and using clarifying names such as M as in Mary will ensure that acronyms are correct in the transcript. Numbers can be equally confusing. Clarify what the number represents, percentage, dollar, time, et cetera.

Methyl-Ethyl-What?

Court reporters acquire a broad general knowledge of terms and subject matters. However, in our world of advanced technologies, it’s impossible to be familiar with every possible subject matter. You may be very familiar with the specialized terminology in your case, the court reporter may or may not be. By providing the court reporter with a glossary of technical terms – especially if it’s a realtime display – will help create an accurate record and minimize interruption for clarification during the proceedings.

Show and Tell

For efficient handling of items of evidence, briefly and adequately identify by stating both the date and an identifying feature and when referring to an exhibit, specify the exhibit number. If there are going to be a large number of items entered into evidence let the reporter know in advance and give them enough time to mark the exhibit and make a note in the record before proceeding.

Using these few tips at your next proceeding will not only help create an accurate record it will also make your court reporter very happy.

Do's and Don'ts of Making the Record, Part One

The transcript you receive from the court reporter is an important document before, during and after trial. In the judicial process there is a lot on the line and the importance of a clear, accurate record is critical.

Here are some helpful tips and reminders for creating an accurate record. Some of them are common sense, but it’s sometimes the common sense things that trip us up.

• ·       Awareness of the record. Keeping in the forefront of your mind that your words are being reported and may be read by opposing counsel, appellate judges, legal scholars – maybe even the Supreme Court will go a long way to creating an effective, useable record. You’ll eliminate duplication and repetition and your false starts will drop dramatically. You’ll look good, in front of your colleagues and in print.

• ·       Dr. Livingston, I presume? The reporter needs to know who you are and who you represent.  Often, it’s fairly straight forward. If it’s not, such as a multi-party case or a telephonic proceeding, it’s best practice to identify yourself before you speak.

• ·       What’s in a Name? Enunciate clearly and spell out proper names. Often names can be spelled a variety of ways or even mistaken for similar sounding names so take the time to ensure that there is no doubt of the correct spelling. No one likes to have their name confused with someone else’s or misspelled.
  

• ·       One at a time. What can’t be heard and understood can’t be reported. It’s hard to not overlap, we do it all the time in conversation. In a legal proceeding, talking over one another only serves to confuse those listening and clutter up the record – or may not even make in the record. A reporter can only take down the words of one person at a time.

We hope these few tips will help you in making a clear, concise and accurate record. Your court reporter will do the rest. Look for a few more tips next month.