For those of you who are not familiar with the duties and training of a court stenographer or court reporter (used interchangeably), you may find the description below to be  helpful.

A court reporter is an official witness to a legal proceeding or meeting of any type who can accurately record what is said by all persons present (in person or telephonically).  The reporter is unbiased in the sense that he/she has no personal interest in the matter.  Nearly all of the people present at a legal proceeding are parties to the case and might have a prejudicial interest in the issues and outcome.  The reporter is the neutral observer whose recordation becomes the official record  before the law of what was spoken at a deposition, hearing, trail or any other proceeding.

Court reporters are granted the authority to administer oaths to facilitate his/her position as official witness.  At a deposition, which is done outside of a courtroom, the reporter swears or affirms the witness, putting him/her under penalty of perjury for false testimony.

Since the events being reported are primarily the spoken word, a court reporter must be skilled at recording oral testimony and providing a verbatim transcript.  The transcript contains the reporter's signed certificate, which states that the transcript is a true and accurate record of the proceedings.

Reporters need to be able to write at least 225 words per minute in order to graduate from court reporting school.