l l l l l Stipulations Charges  and  specifications Fliers Findings  and  sentence  work  sheets Proposed  instruction  to  the  members Make  sure  copies  of  the  appropriate  court-martial convening order and any amendments are before each member  of  the  court,  military  judge,  TC,  defense counsel  (DC),  and  the  accused.  In  addition,  if  the case was originally referred to one convening order and then re-referred to another, you must furnish the original  order  to  the  military  judge.  You  also  will provide  a  copy  of  the  charges  and  specifications, questions forms, and sufficient paper and pencils to all parties to the trial. You must make sure your recording equipment is in proper working condition and the other tools of good reporting are available; for example, extra pencils, extra prenumbered  tapes,  chalk,  blackboard,  erasers,  tags  for real evidence, and a reporter’s work sheet. Some of these pretrial administrative duties are addressed  in  this  chapter  and  some  are  addressed  later in chapter 6. During  Trial There are many duties of the court reporter during the  actual  proceedings.  Of  course,  the  most  important duty is the actual verbatim recording of all proceedings. This also includes all actions of the witnesses, accused, counsel, and any other parties to the trial. You may be required to remain in the courtroom during short recesses when the TC is unable to be present.  You  also  will  be  tasked  with  securing  the courtroom during meal recesses, overnight recesses, and  any  other  period  that  necessitates  the  absence  of the TC or yourself for extended periods. Make sure any  evidence  admitted  during  the  trial  is  secured during such recesses or adjournments. You are authorized, through the military judge, to stop the proceedings for various reasons. Keep these interruptions to a minimum. Some of the allowable reasons  for  stopping  proceedings  include  the following: .  You did not hear the testimony of the witness. .  You did not hear something said by any other party to the trial. 3-3 l l l Time is required to change tapes. Time is required to mark exhibits. Anything else that requires your attention to make  an  accurate  verbatim  transcript. After Trial After the trial is complete, you are responsible for retrieving  all  exhibits  that  were  admitted  in  evidence (and those offered but not admitted) from the TC and DC, and any extra copies of these exhibits that are available.  If  charts,  blackboards,  or  real  evidence were  introduced,  you  need  to  make  the  necessary arrangements   to   have   these   photographed immediately  after  the  trial  or,  if  time  permits,  during recesses or adjournments, as directed by the TC. While  the  military  judge  or  members  see  the physical   evidence,   the  NMCMR,  which  has fact-finding  power,  must  often  rely  on  photographs  or descriptions.  The  TC  has  the  responsibility  of  making sure  the  substituted  photographs  or  descriptions adequately  depict  the  exhibit.  While  the  use  of  a self-developing  photograph  is  convenient,  the resulting photograph is often virtually useless to the appellate  courts. Do  not  overlook  the  use  of  local photographic  offices  to  help  in  preparing  adequate photographic representations of the trial exhibits. After  the  proceedings  you  are  responsible  for cleaning  up  the  courtroom  for  the  next  trial  and preparing  the  report  of  result  of  trial  and  a confinement  order,  if  necessary,  for  the  TC. Last  but  certainly  not  least,  you  may  be responsible for the preparation of the record of trial in that  court.  Each  NLSO  conducts  business  differently. If   you   are   assigned   to   the   court   reporting   and transcription shop, you may be required, at times, to transcribe your own courts. However, cases may also be turned in to the supervisor who then assigns them to  the  next  available  transcriptionist  for  preparation. It  is,  therefore,  very  important  to  remember  that  you may not be the one assigned to transcribe the court you are recording, so do the best job possible. Loss of Recordings The military judge may, before authentication of the   record,   hold   a   posttrial   session   to   repeat proceedings  in  which  a  verbatim  transcript  cannot  be prepared  because  of  loss  of  recordings.