Transcription Legal Transcription 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'deposition' in legal transcription?
- Sworn out-of-court testimony recorded for legal proceedings (Correct answer)
- A formal court verdict
- A written legal brief filed with a judge
- A client intake interview
Correct answer: Sworn out-of-court testimony recorded for legal proceedings
A deposition is sworn testimony given outside of court, typically recorded and transcribed verbatim for use in litigation.
Question 2: In legal transcription, what does 'sic' in brackets indicate?
- The word or phrase was spoken exactly as written, even if it appears incorrect (Correct answer)
- The section is confidential
- The speaker paused
- The transcript has been certified
Correct answer: The word or phrase was spoken exactly as written, even if it appears incorrect
[Sic] indicates that the text has been transcribed exactly as spoken or written, even if it contains an apparent error.
Question 3: What is the role of a 'certified court reporter' in legal proceedings?
- To create a verbatim record of all spoken words in legal proceedings (Correct answer)
- To advise attorneys on case strategy
- To manage court scheduling
- To authenticate evidence submitted to the court
Correct answer: To create a verbatim record of all spoken words in legal proceedings
A certified court reporter produces verbatim transcripts of legal proceedings, serving as the official record for appeals and future reference.
Question 4: Which of the following is a key characteristic of legal transcription compared to general transcription?
- It requires verbatim accuracy including all interruptions and crosstalk (Correct answer)
- It summarizes proceedings for brevity
- It focuses only on witness testimony
- It omits attorney objections
Correct answer: It requires verbatim accuracy including all interruptions and crosstalk
Legal transcription demands complete verbatim accuracy, capturing every word, interruption, and crosstalk to preserve the integrity of the legal record.
Question 5: What does 'voir dire' refer to in the context of legal transcription?
- The jury selection questioning process (Correct answer)
- A formal objection by the defense
- A witness cross-examination
- A judge's final ruling
Correct answer: The jury selection questioning process
Voir dire is the process by which attorneys question potential jurors to determine their suitability for a case.
Question 6: In a legal transcript, how are speaker identifications typically formatted?
- In all caps followed by a colon (e.g., THE WITNESS:) (Correct answer)
- In italics without punctuation
- In bold lowercase
- Numbered rather than named
Correct answer: In all caps followed by a colon (e.g., THE WITNESS:)
Legal transcription convention uses all-caps speaker labels followed by a colon to clearly identify each speaker in the record.
Transcription Legal Transcription 1
What is a 'deposition' in legal transcription?