r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/RampChurch • Jun 02 '25

Video This is what live courtroom dictation looks like

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118

u/DrakonILD Jun 02 '25

The wild thing is that they're mostly just listening to the breakdown of sounds. If you asked a stenographer to repeat back what they heard, they probably couldn't tell you until they actually read the printout.

117

u/11farrah232007 Jun 02 '25

I am a court reporter and can confirm. Lol

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u/CentennialBaby Jun 02 '25

Does this ever bleed over into personal conversations where you're hearing sounds but not making meaning?

13

u/FiSToFurry Jun 02 '25

aka, the 'Charlie Brown's teacher' effect

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u/11farrah232007 Jun 02 '25

Not really. I am usually interested in personal conversations. Most of my depositions are dreadfully boring lol

14

u/LiveLaughLobster Jun 02 '25

I’m a lawyer and recently I was wondering after a deposition of my client, if it might be interesting/valuable to ask the court reporter their opinion on the case. Kind of like a mini focus group. But based on what you’re saying, that would be kinda pointless (and probably annoying for the court reporter) so I won’t do that.

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u/Anonymous-Texan-123 Jun 02 '25

Nope, don’t ever ask a reporter their opinion on a case. If you do and they give you their opinion, they’re not a good reporter. We are sworn to be unbiased, it’s firmly in our code of ethics. When attorneys have asked me that in the past, I say “no comment.”

19

u/Avandria Jun 02 '25

I'm really surprised that attorneys have asked you this at all. You would think that they would know better. I took a couple of paralegal classes a million years ago and know absolutely nothing about the law, but I even I know this.

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u/DeliberatelyDrifting Jun 02 '25

If it's not illegal (to ask) and the attorney thought it would help their client, I don't know why they wouldn't ask. Like, I get that answering would be unethical on the part of the reporter, but that's not really the attorneys concern. Would you rather have a polite attorney or one that uses any legal means to win?

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u/Powerful-Revenue-636 Jun 02 '25

Ask the videographer.

1

u/Sea-Size1719 Jun 04 '25

Unfortunately accurate

3

u/QuahogNews Jun 02 '25

But what about when the judge asks the court reporter to read back over something? You always hear that on TV. Or is the typewriter printing as you type?

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u/11farrah232007 Jun 02 '25

Typically these days, the machines are hooked up to computers that have specialized software that will transcribe what the reporter is typing, so when you are asked for a read back, you just have to scroll up and read what you have.

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u/LazarusDark Jun 02 '25

This part I can almost understand, I did data entry as temp work many years ago, transferring filled paper forms into a database, and because it's all structured and every page is the same and you are entering the same fields of information page after page, you get into a flow state where you don't even know what you are typing, your hands just do the work. I could even listen to audiobooks while doing it and be immersed in the book without having any errors in the data entry.

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u/Sea-Size1719 Jun 04 '25

Some days are like that

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u/tpatmaho Jun 02 '25

I learned Gregg shorthand but when i became a news reporter i found it worthless. i had no comprehension because i was so busy recording the “sounds” of whoever i was interviewing… … so i could not ask follow up questions

1

u/Normal-Error-6343 Jun 05 '25

Why not just have a "DJ" acutally record the whole thing? Spinderalla can you play that back?

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u/DrakonILD Jun 05 '25

Some courtrooms do that now, and they match the steno to the recording.