CRI Transcription Standards & Accuracy 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A deponent answers a yes/no question with a nod or head shake rather than a verbal response. The reporter should:
- Transcribe 'Yes' or 'No' based on context
- Transcribe 'Nods' or 'Shakes head' and the attorney should request a verbal response (Correct answer)
- Leave a blank for the attorney to fill in
- Omit the non-verbal response entirely
Correct answer: Transcribe 'Nods' or 'Shakes head' and the attorney should request a verbal response
Non-verbal responses must be noted, and the attorney must prompt a spoken answer because transcripts capture only spoken words.
Question 2: In court reporting, 'read back' refers to:
- A reporter reviewing the audio after the session
- A reporter reading aloud from the transcript at a judge's or counsel's request during the proceeding (Correct answer)
- Sending the draft transcript for attorney review
- Playing back the digital audio file in open court
Correct answer: A reporter reading aloud from the transcript at a judge's or counsel's request during the proceeding
Read back is when the reporter reads a portion of the transcript record aloud during the proceeding, typically at a judge's or attorney's request.
Question 3: Which scenario would most likely result in a certified transcript being deemed inadmissible?
- Minor typographical errors corrected on an errata sheet
- Substantial alterations to the transcript made after certification without disclosure (Correct answer)
- A reporter using software-assisted transcription tools
- A transcript produced within 30 days rather than 10
Correct answer: Substantial alterations to the transcript made after certification without disclosure
Undisclosed post-certification alterations destroy the integrity of the certified record and can render it inadmissible as evidence.
Question 4: When exhibits are introduced during a deposition, the reporter's responsibility includes:
- Transcribing the full text of each exhibit
- Marking and logging each exhibit by number and description in the transcript (Correct answer)
- Retaining the originals for safekeeping
- Sending copies of exhibits to all parties
Correct answer: Marking and logging each exhibit by number and description in the transcript
The reporter marks exhibits with sequential numbers and records the description and point of introduction in the transcript, but does not transcribe exhibit content.
Question 5: A clean-read transcription style differs from true verbatim primarily by:
- Including timestamps every 60 seconds
- Removing filler words and false starts while preserving substantive content (Correct answer)
- Adding the reporter's summary of each answer
- Converting all quoted speech to indirect speech
Correct answer: Removing filler words and false starts while preserving substantive content
Clean-read (intelligent verbatim) removes disfluencies like 'um' and false starts to improve readability while keeping all substantive spoken content intact.
Question 6: A reporter is asked to certify a transcript from audio they did not personally record. Under NCRA ethical guidelines, they should:
- Certify it if the audio quality is acceptable
- Refuse certification because they cannot attest to the accuracy of a recording they did not witness (Correct answer)
- Certify it with a notation that it is from third-party audio
- Submit it under the original reporter's name
Correct answer: Refuse certification because they cannot attest to the accuracy of a recording they did not witness
Certification attests personal accuracy of the record; reporters cannot ethically certify proceedings they did not personally stenograph or record.
Question 7: When a speaker uses profanity during testimony, the standard approach in a legal transcript is to:
- Replace the word with [expletive deleted]
- Transcribe the word exactly as spoken without modification (Correct answer)
- Paraphrase the statement to remove offensive language
- Blank out letters in the middle of the word (e.g., f***k)
Correct answer: Transcribe the word exactly as spoken without modification
Legal transcripts require verbatim accuracy; profanity must be transcribed exactly as spoken because the word choice may be legally relevant.
CRI Transcription Standards & Accuracy 4
A deponent answers a yes/no question with a nod or head shake rather than a verbal response.
The reporter should: