Going “Off the Record”: A Way to Resolve Objections

By: Colleen Jilio-Ryan | Posted in: court reporter

In a deposition, you can announce “we’re off the record” and it will alert the reporter and counsel to end of documentation. But just because you may be taking a deposition and paying for the original copy doesn’t allow you to stop the reporting. It is up to the court reporter to get an agreement from all counsel present at the deposition before officially going off the record.

Here are some more details about what it means to be “off the record”.

Court Reporter’s Role

The court reporter is not at a deposition to represent any one side, even if the reporter was called to the meeting by one side. The reporter is there to capture an accurate record of the event and must be impartial. That is why a reporter may stay on the record, if some participant does not agree to go off the record.

Ultimately, attorneys from each side will agree on what goes on the record. A judge can intervene and decide what is on the record but if the reporter stopped typing then there is no record for that time period.

When Everyone Agrees

When everyone in the discussion agrees to be off the record, the reporter agrees to take his hands off the keyboard to show that no record is being taken. He may first type a note in parentheses that a discussion is off the record. The reporter is then told when to go back on record by one of the parties. The reporter must get an agreement from all counsel involved in the deposition when it is time to go on and off the record.