COURT REPORTERS ON THE FOREFRONT

Here in Boston two high-profile matters will soon be brought to trial, the former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez murder case and the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev/Boston Marathon Bombing case.  Both matters have garnered national attention, so much so that the process of jury selection alone, especially in the Tsarnaev case, will be long and arduous.  The stakes are high on both sides, and the public’s interest has not waned with the passage of time.  All eyes may be on the defendants, but ours will be on the court reporters.

The court reporters who are assigned to cover these lengthy trials will be charged with capturing every word spoken.  They will be under immense pressure, as they will probably have to provide a realtime feed to counsel and the Court , and perhaps others off site, as well as quick, if not immediate, transcript delivery.  To accomplish this, they will have done their due diligence, reading as much about their assigned case as possible and putting words into their respective dictionaries. 

During the trials, a parade of witnesses will appear before them, some with accents, some speaking at breakneck speeds, others speaking softly or mumbling, and it will fall on them to navigate through it all, performing their duties quietly and unobtrusively, with limited interruptions.  There will be arguments, bench conferences, noises in the background that interfere with their concentration.  No doubt there will be thick binders of exhibits to keep track of as well as the chronology of witness testimony under direct, cross, redirect, and recross examinations.  In addition, they may have to field requests from the press for immediate transcript excerpts. 

These reporters will basically put their lives on hold to concentrate on the task at hand, reporting by day and editing by night, for weeks at a time.  We anticipate both trials, but especially the Tsarnaev trial, will be challenging and exhausting, but we are sure they will have a great sense of personal and professional pride and accomplishment in the end. 

Hats off to our dedicated and talented colleagues.  They are proving that they are an indispensible part of the legal system.  We will be cheering them on from the sidelines.