Court Transcripts: Know the Process and Laws

By: Colleen Jilio-Ryan | Posted in: Court Transcription

Court transcripts are necessary to make official records of court proceedings and are usually captured through a court reporter’s notes or recording equipment. They are word-to-word record of every court proceedings that includes witness testimony, spoken arguments of the lawyers and decisions of the judge. They may be available to the interested party or publicly as requested.

Here are some essential details related to court transcripts in California:

Process

Many courts have started using digital recording systems. They send the archived recordings to transcribers or court reporters when the transcripts are needed. A full-service transcription company can often fulfill all your transcription needs, whether it involves notes or recording.

By contacting Court Services you can obtain court recordings directly from the court for a fee, but you will have to hire a transcription service if you want the recording transcribed. It may cost extra if you request to expedite a transcript of a recording.

As court transcripts are exact copy of the court proceedings, court reporters must ensure accuracy and pay close attention to detail. It may take double the deposition time in reviewing court transcripts to make it error-free.

Related Article: How Real Time Transcription Helps Litigators

Laws about Transcripts

As pursuant to California state law, criminal case notes taken by court reporters must be destroyed after ten years, except for death penalty cases, which must never be discarded. Traffic case record can be destroyed after its disposition. For civil cases, the notes must be destroyed after five years.

Records of court proceedings are not available online for 2005 or earlier. You may have to visit the Records department at the courthouse to request for the records.

Contact us to know more about the court transcription process in California.