5 Ethical Responsibilities of Court Reporters |
Posted: September 15, 2017 |
5 Ethical Responsibilities of Court Reporters Based on its significance in the case, court reporting is not only an important job, but it also carries ethical responsibility. A court reporter records and transcribes everything that is said in a court room or in a deposition. The transcripts maintained by court reporters become the part of the case documents in the court and are also presented in front the of the judge or jury. Specifically, in case of deposition, the reporting completely depends on the court reporter. When there is a need for pre-trial testimony or to record the testimony during trial, one of the party in the case may request for a court reporter. Usually, it is the responsibility of the lawyer of the concerned party to arrange a court reporter in the area. For example, when the person who should bear testimony or needs to be investigated is in Los Angeles, the lawyer will look for a Court Reporter Los Angeles to preside and record the deposition. The same is the case when the case is in the court in Los Angeles. Even though, there may be certain duties and obligations asserted by state law on court reporters, but most of their ethical responsibilities are same and should be looked after. Even when the court reporters are not bound by the law, they should uphold these ethical principles in their work. Here are 5 of the ethical responsibilities of a court reporter that must reflect in his work.
1- Be Fair and Impartial to Both Parties Impartiality or unbiased approach in recording the proceedings is important. The court reporter should not let its personal biases, personal opinion, or personal connection hinder its impartial reporting of the case. The fact that court reporters are usually hired by one party in the case should not create any bias in the reporting and must not favor any party. The manipulation of words or missing information can lead to as much as change of decision in the case. So, it is the ethical responsibility of the court reporter to supervise its duty in honesty.
2- Provide Comparable Services to Both Parties The ethical rule also applies to the scope and cost of services. Even though one party hires the court reporter, the other party is also eligible to get the transcripts. The prices and amount of time to prepare transcripts should be the same for both parties. For example, if you hired a Court Reporter Los Angeles and it agreed to provide you a written transcript in 3 days at $30 additional fee per page, it should be the same for other party. The contesting party should also be able to get the transcript in 3 days at the same additional fee and must not be put to wait for 8-10-day time. The reason for this rule is that if one party gets the manuscript late, it will get less time to prepare the case.
3- Should Keep the Secrets Confidential During the proceeding, the court reporter will come across various valuable information about companies, families and persons. The things like financial records, health records, abuse records, and other private matters become known to court reporter. It is the ethical responsibility of the court reporter to deal with this information ethically by keeping it confidential. What happens in the court room or during a deposition should stay in the room and must not be leaked at any cost. The court reporter should not blackmail individuals or companies based on that information. It is one of the most significant ethical duty of a court reporter.
4- Do Not Accept or Give Incentive Gifts Another of the important ethical duty is to say ‘NO’ to incentive gifting, no matter if it is in the form of discounts. The court reporter should not accept any gifts or discounts, neither should give any undue ones. More get info about: How to Ace a Video Deposition
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