What do you do when have NO AUDIO from that depo?

I am a new reporter who recently did a job for a friend. I was having a terrible morning that morning and I forgot to plug my computer in. I didn't realize until we were in the proceedings. I thought, it's okay, my Diamante is recording even though my audiosynch is not. A certain unnamed person at Stenograph told me that there was a mic in there with equalizer, etc, and I did NOT need to purchase a mic. Also, the batteries on my digital recorder went out. I did not freak because I thought, and I am a new reporter, that it is being recorded on my $5,000 machine.

Well, it didn't record, because it DOES need a mic. My notes are pretty good, but I need audio. I am so stressed. This is a good friend of mine and I do not want to let her down. I feel like a disgrace to the profession and that I should quit. Advice would be nice.

First of all, take a deep breath.  Second of all, never consider yourself a disgrace.  Confidence is key to a reporter's success.

I began my career in the era of BC (before computers) and the steno paper notes were everything.  We didn't have audio sync -- we did have the kitchen sink -- but that was the extent of modern technology.

When Stenograph introduced the electric writer I was in heaven.

I agree with Iheart's suggestions, particularly transcribing immediately while the job is fresh in your mind.   Marking the rough draft to compare with my notes is something I do to this very day. 

Take a breather from your transcription and come back to it later.  You'll be surprised at how the outlines "miraculously" make sense once you've given your brain a rest.

Another tip:  If you have to take custody of exhibits use them.  In my state, the attorneys retain their exhibits, so I often ask for copies of any exhibits I marked for identification.  Sometimes I keep a few for reference.

Some months back, while setting up at a job,  I chatted with a legal secretary who fell in love with my pink Diamante, and she talked about her classes in court reporting school.  I realized during our conversation that her school emphasized the audio recording feature of the writer.   We are Court Reporters, not digital recorders.  As Rosalie stated, trust your notes. 

You will learn to finesse your style and ability as a reporter.  The fact that you are so concerned about your worthiness is a good sign, but don't be so hard on yourself.  And please rely on your writing, not the audio recording.

Good luck!

Do not feel like you are a disgrace to the profession and that you should quit.  You said your notes were pretty good, trust your notes whatever you do.  Before I did audio recording, I was sent out to a lot of psychotherapy cases when I first started out, which I never should have been sent to, I would receive a lot of corrections, so I felt the same way you do now.  Just keep telling yourself, you passed the CSR test, you are a capable and good reporter,  so what if you may get corrections back, that's why the witness is sent an errata sheet to fix anything he/she may have said wrong, or a word that you may have wrong. 

The main thing is, again, TRUST YOUR NOTES, and the identifications are correct on who was speaking.  You'll do just fine.

You said your notes are pretty good and you didn't indicate that you had any drops or things that you got blown away on.  Was this a lay witness that wasn't too difficult or a pediatric pulmonologist from Mexico?  I had that once in a trial - very difficult.  Do you feel like you got at least 95% of it?  I think you should immediately sit down & transcribe it.  I've always been surprised that what I thought I had messed up, I actually made a decent record.  Your memory is fresh, so if you do it right away, you may make a good record based on your notes and on your memory of the proceedings.   I'd mark anything I had a question on in the rough transcript and look at the notes again.  You may be able to make sense of it comparing what you transcribed to your notes & perhaps fill in any blanks.  Were there any exhibits you could look at to help?  If you find big chunks missing, you may have to ask for some help from your friend or other court reporters you work with.  I don't think you should quit.  But it is important for a reporter to be competent and not rely so heavily on audio that you can't make a record when audio equipment fails to work.  I think you'll be so prepared next time that it will be a long time before something like this happens again, if ever.

I want to thank you for your kind words. My notes were better than I thought. I was able to type it up and everything looked fine. I still feel extremely unprofessional about this whole thing, but I am taking it as a lesson learned. Thanks again. =)

Hey,

You are not a bad reporter, and quitting is out of the question.  I think we've all had those mornings and had to make a transcript without audio when we wished we had it.

I'd tell your friend what happened, and maybe they have spellings or have done stuff in the same case, etc., that would help you just get it done.

If there are spots in your notes where you have no idea what you wrote, if it was me, I'd delete it.  I think it is better to have something missing than have something in the record that is made up.

It needs to make sense, too.  You probably can ask the clerk to see the file, and, by looking at everything you can before transcribing, it may help you decipher some of the notes you couldn't read. 

It has happened to court reporters everywhere, and everyone it happened to is just human.  People won't think you're not a good reporter, and they will be willing to help you.  Good luck, and no quitting, Carol DeBee Martin