Are Court Reporters Obligated to
Provide an Audio Backup?

As we know,
a deposition transcript captures the proceedings verbatim. What it can’t
capture is the attorney’s or witness’s tone of voice, or whether a participant
is laughing, or crying. Most of the time that doesn’t really matter, but in an
especially contentious case,  those types
of issues can be relevant. In such cases attorneys sometimes request any audio
backup the court reporter may have available.

Which brings
us to the question: Are attorneys entitled to receive a copy of backup audio
media?

The short
answer is, no. The official record of the deposition is the transcript, and
court reporters (or court reporting firms) are not obligated to release backup
audio media. If there is a request for the audio and the firm decides to grant
it, the National Court Reporters Association has developed guidelines for doing
so:

1.      If the backup audio media is made
available to any party in a case, it is the responsibility of the reporter to
ensure that no confidential or off-the-record discussions are contained in the
released recording.

2.      A reporting firm/agency may not require
that a reporter produce the backup audio media (unless ordered to do so by a
court).

3.      If the reporter decides to release
the backup audio media, the reporter shall release a copy and not the original
(unless ordered otherwise by a court).

4.      If the reporter makes available a
copy of the backup audio media to one party, the same offer must be made to the
other party(ies) to the proceeding.

5.      Reporters should check all applicable
local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations to ensure that creating a
backup audio media is in compliance with those laws, rules and regulations.

6.      If a reporter uses backup audio
media, it should be preserved upon request by any party to the proceeding for
the same period of time for which the reporter’s notes are preserved. The
reporter may request that the party seek a court order before making it
available.

If an
attorney anticipates wanting an audio recording of a particular deposition,
they can create their own – provided they’ve followed the applicable Rules of
Civil Procedure in that jurisdiction.