The history of stenographic court reporting in the legal field
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Introduction
Stenography refers to the art of transcribing and shorthand writing with the use of a typewriter. Court reporters are an integral part of any court hearing process and as such, they play a key role in using shorthand to make records of court proceedings. Despite the rise in the use of digital recording for the past 25 years, court stenographers, or rather reporters continue to play a major role in court proceedings. This paper seeks to discuss the history of stenographic court reporting while assessing the development of stenography with technological advancement.
The History of Court Stenographic Reporting
History reveals that stenographic court reporting dates back to 16BC to Marcus Tiro, who was a slave to Cicero, a Roman lawyer. Marcus exhibited skill in taking records. It therefore goes without saying that he also did an exemplary job in keeping his master’s financial records. Marcus Tiro came up with abbreviations and symbols so as to keep pace with his speech transcription work for his master. This system included the omission of ordinary words which he was able to include later using his memory. He later upgraded this system to include more than 4,000 signs and symbols. The system was later taken on by scribes all over Rome and other parts of the world. However, the use of shorthand dwindled till 1772; when the English authorities appointed Thomas Gurney as the first official shorthand writer for the government.
A notable stenographic system in the 18th century is Samuel Taylor’s. His works motivated Pitman Isaac to make an improvement on the symbols. He did this by recording sounds alongside the symbols. Isaac’s works were published in 1837 in Stenographic Sound-Hand. This publication contained vowels, double-consonants as well as consonants. The system allowed reporters to make a distinction between sounds by using similar signs. Benn Pitman, Isaac’s brother, only made minor improvements to the latter’s system when introducing it in America. Pitman’s stenographic system was easy to use across various languages in the world since it replaced letters with sounds.
The use of shorthand in the USA began with the use of a system developed by John Gregg, who traveled to the US from England with the aim of establishing shorthand learning institutions in Chicago as well as Boston. This system was printed in the United States later in 1893. Its use however reduced with the introduction of the earliest stenotype device. The patent to the machine in question was granted to Miles Bartholomew; a court reporter of American origin. This device did not immediately get widespread for common use; neither did it get mass-produced immediately. This inventor owned the United States Stenograph Corporation, a company established in Illinois around this piece of technology. Gregg’s machine consisted of 10 keys. Each key represented a single letter. Strokes produced a pattern of dashes and dots.
Within this period, court reporters used variants of Mile’s model till 1937. One of these machines was Ward Stone’s invention in 1906. This stenographic device was more complicated than the previous designs. Specifically, this invention had fewer keys than the previous models. It also had a higher-speed keyboard than the previous models.
Modern-day stenography came about with the introduction of the stenograph device in 1913. At the time, this was the most accurate and reliable method of making vertabim records. By stroking the numerous keys successfully, stenographers could capture their data using a phonetic code representing sounds or syllables. Currently, such notes are recorded using print on a slim piece of paper while at the same time being recorded in a computer layout.
Stenography has been computerized for the past 20 years or so. This is way before the computerization of other court systems. Technological advancement has transformed stenographers into information managers. Consistency in the improvement of speed as well as precision transformed the stenographic devices from dot-and-dash output to potent pieces of technology where users would be able to push down numerous keys successively using a single stroke. Even with these changes, court reporters have embraced new technology and methods. In so doing, court reporting has remained relevant and pivotal so far as court proceedings are concerned.
Stenography in the U.S
The use of shorthand in the USA began with the use of a system developed by John Gregg, who traveled to the US from England with the aim of establishing shorthand learning institutions in Chicago as well as Boston. This system was printed in the United States later in 1893. Its use however reduced with the introduction of the earliest stenotype device. The patent to the machine in question was granted to Miles Bartholomew; a court reporter of American origin. This device did not immediately get widespread for common use; neither did it get mass-produced immediately. This inventor owned the United States Stenograph Corporation, a company established in Illinois around this piece of technology. Gregg’s machine consisted of 10 keys. Each key represented a single letter. Strokes produced a pattern of dashes and dots.
Within this period, court reporters used variants of Mile’s model till 1937. One of these machines was Ward Stone’s invention in 1906. This stenographic device was more complicated than the previous designs. Specifically, this invention had fewer keys than the previous models. It also had a higher-speed keyboard than the previous models.
Kerr Anderson developed a shorthand device in1889. What made this invention stand out is that the device’s keyboard allowed users to press more than one key at a time. Additionally, instead of using dots and dashes, this device used English letters and symbols. The stenograph machine allowed users to write complete words in one stroke. This greatly improved transcription speed. Kerr’s inspiration was the typewriter. However, he sought to improve the typewriter’s shortcoming; the fact that it allowed a reporter to type only one letter at a time; which was very burdensome. Anderson’s invention was not popular. However, it was used to transcribe President William McKinley’s maiden speech. this way, Anderson’s stenograph machine was recognized in shorthand history.
At the time, this was the most accurate and reliable method of making vertabim records. By stroking the numerous keys successfully, stenographers could capture their data using a phonetic code representing sounds or syllables. Currently, such notes are recorded using print on a slim piece of paper while at the same time being recorded in a computer layout.
The history of stenographic reporting in the U.S dates back to the establishment of courts in the Americas in the 19th century. In 1893, the World Congress of Stenographers gathered in Chicago to talk about the formation of a national professional body for stenographers. The National Court Reporters Association was founded in 1899 as a professional outfit or association for court reporters. The professional body draws its membership from both court reporters and captioners. The NCRA seeks to promote excellence in the court reporting profession by organizing training programs approved by the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. Through the conventions and seminars organized annually, the NCRA creates learning and interaction opportunities for its members. This helps them in continuously adding to their knowledge in emerging subjects and trends. Additionally, the NCRA supports its members by coming up with a free-of-charge service that enables them to register for its programs and other services. The NCRA, through its IT department, has progressively made investigations on the technologies that impart on court reporting. In this regard, the organization has compiled up-to-date materials on computerized transcription systems, among other subjects in the court reporting profession.
The NCRA has established the National Court Reporters Foundation that organizes projects and programs that aim at enhancing research, developing strategic associations, and promoting education as well as training. In addition to this, NCRA offers its members group insurance policies, credit services, scholarship opportunities, legislative watching services, among other vital services.
The NCRA has standardized some stenography requirements to preserve and enhance the profession’s quality. One of the standards is a high accuracy level of 97%. While fears have been expressed that advancement in technology would render stenography irrelevant, on the contrary, it has opened stenographers to infinite opportunities. For instance, the adoption of life broadcasts and video recording to aid deaf people or others with hearing difficulties is a highly-skilled job that only professionals in that area can handle. Therefore, this improvement in technology does not necessarily render stenography obsolete.
The need for accurate court records is essential at that time and for future purposes. Court stenographers possess immense skills to record court proceedings devoid of any bias. The absence of bias in official court records is an important element of any given historical accounts. In the U.S, court stenographers are required to have proficiency in English, transcription, and shorthand. Besides a mastery of speed and accuracy, a person has to have college certification to be recognized as a stenographer. Additionally, some states require qualified persons to get licenses for them to be recognized as stenographers.
In Florida, for a person to be certified as a court reporter and join the Florida Court Reporters Association (FCRA), a number of parameters have to be met. First, one has to prove completion of a Formal Court Completion Program. This may be attained in a community college or a technical school. the school that a person enrolls in will determine the level of qualification; degree in court reporting for community colleges and diploma or professional certificates for technical schools. Secondly, a person has to pass the Florida Professional Reporters Certification test. The test is offered by FCRA. This certification is a de facto requirement for working as a court stenograph in Florida courts. This rule applies where state licensing is absent. The said certification is earned through attending a Florida Rules and Ethics Certification Seminar. This is followed by taking the requisite certification examination. For a person to be awarded a reporter certificate, he or she ought to score 80% or higher. Lastly, one has to keep working to maintain the Florida Certification.
Use of Technology to Improve Case Reporting
In the 20th Century, court secretaries and reporters put to test the use of recording devices alongside stenotype devices to come up with transcripts of high accuracy. International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) made a partnership with the US armed forces in the 1950s; the military, in particular. The deal involved translating typed words and symbols into various languages. Unfortunately, the plan was prematurely stopped. Court secretaries and reporters protested against this move and pushed for computer-aided stenotype devices.
Stenography has been computerized for the past 20 years or so. Over those years, court reporters have been using computer-aided transcription (CAT) in carrying out tasks. These systems are developed in such a manner that they link stenotype devices to computers electronically. Thereafter, the resultant transcript is usually in a format that can be stored in media such as CD-ROM. This computerized transcript is a vital tool in the modern judicial systems. The majority of computer-aided transcription systems have the ability to create a translation from stenographic notes almost immediately. Most stenographers engage themselves in continuous training to equip themselves with the skills needed to produce instant transcripts during court proceedings. The real-time text is then subsequently displayed to judges as well as attorneys individually or on projected screens to more people.
Stenography was computerized way before the computerization of other court systems. Technological advancement has transformed stenographers into information managers. Consistency in the improvement of speed as well as precision transformed the stenographic devices from dot-and-dash output to potent pieces of technology where users would be able to push down numerous keys successively using a single stroke. Even with these changes, court reporters have embraced new technology and methods. In so doing, court reporting has remained relevant and pivotal so far as court proceedings are concerned.
Conclusion
Modern-day stenotype devices are much more similar to computers than typewriters. Besides having microprocessors, they have separate keys that possess varying sensitivity settings. The devices also have Liquid Crystal Display screens that display shorthand words and symbols in English. With the advancement of voice recognition technology and the improvement of translation software technology, the improvement of court reporting practices is bound to be realized. Upon making a review of the history of stenographic court reporting in the legal field, it is evident that court reporting is a vocation that requires high levels of skill, efficiency, and accuracy.
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