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Retention of Trial Notes
For cases in which a summarized record of trial is
authorized, retain the notes or recordings of the
original proceedings until the record is authenticated.
For cases in which a verbatim transcription is
required, retain the verbatim notes or recordings of
the original proceedings until completion of final
action or appellate review, whichever is later.
The verbatim notes or recordings may be kept by
the TC, an assistant, a court reporter, or the supervisor
of the court reporting and transcription shop.
COURT REPORTING METHODS AND
EQUIPMENT
You may use various types of equipment and
methods to record and transcribe proceedings. The
type of equipment and method used will depend
largely upon the availability of equipment and the
method you have been trained to use. Proceedings
may be recorded using longhand, shorthand, or by
using either mechanical or electronic equipment. As a
practical matter, however, recording proceedings
using longhand would be unduly slow and
cumbersome and should not be used except as a last
resort when none of the other more effective methods
and means of recording are available. To help you
understand more fully these methods, a brief
discussion of each is provided as follows.
SHORTHAND
Shorthand is a more efficient method of recording
than longhand because it uses abbreviations, symbols,
and characters in the place of letters, words, and
phrases in recording what is being dictated. The only
equipment needed for this method is pencils and
paper.
MULTICHANNEL TAPE RECORDER
The use of a multichannel tape recorder can
guarantee that everything said during a particular
proceeding is recorded. The major drawback of this
method is that the individuals speaking may not be
readily identified when the recording is transcribed
and gestures and other nonverbal actions are not
recorded at all.
The use of a multichannel tape
recording system has been found to be useful as a
primary system with the incorporation of the reporter
notes to add in the missing elements of speaker
identification and nonverbal responses and gestures.
REPORTER’S LOG
During the proceedings of an SPCM or a GCM,
the reporter is responsible not only for recording
verbatim the proceedings of the court but also for
noting in the record such items as the stages of
examination; time of opening, recessing, closing, and
adjournment of the court; and the marking of exhibits.
The reporter’s log, Figure 3-1, can be a great aid to
you both during and after the court. Use this log in
any court-martial you record. The log has a place to
fill in all the pertinent data that you will need to help
in the transcription of the record of trial.
GENERAL RECORDING
INFORMATION AND REPORTING TIPS
In the following paragraphs, you will find some
tips to help you produce records of trial that will be
consistent and uniform in format. General information
on such items as margins, page numbering, abbrevia-
tions, grammar, and punctuation is included. Taking a
few minutes now to familiarize yourself with these
basic rules will save you much time in the future and
also enable you to turn out a funished product ready
for immediate review.
The following information
relates primarily to SPCMs and GCMs. We will
discuss the preparation of SCM records later in this
chapter.
MARGINS
The left margin of th record of trial should be
1 inch (10 picas or 12 elite spaces). The right margin
should be set 1/2 inch from the side of the page
(5 picas or 6 elite spaces.) The top margin on all
pages should be 2 1/2 inches (15 lines) to allow room
for binding with ACCO fasteners. The bottom margin
on all pages should end as close to 1 inch (but not
more than 2 inches) from the bottom of the page as
possible. If the typed text ends more than 2 inches
from the bottom of the page, as when it has been
necessary to insert an additional partial page of
testimony, you must draw a diagonal line from the left
margin, starting immediately under the last line of
typing to the right margin 1/2 inch from the bottom of
the page. The reason for this action is to make the
reviewing authorities aware that nothing has been
inadvertently omitted from the record.
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