Title: Consequences of a Court Reporter Losing Trial Transcripts
Headings: What can happen if a court reporter is unable to produce a transcript?
What can happen if a court reporter is unable to produce a transcript?
Content: Consequences of a Court Reporter Losing Trial Transcripts
What can happen if a court reporter is unable to produce a transcript? There have been many horror stories involving the loss of a court transcript. In a recent case, both a laptop computer and jump drive belonging to a court reporter were stolen from an Ohio courthouse, resulting in the loss of transcripts for several different trials. While it is not always a court reporter’s fault when a transcript is lost, the inability to produce timely trial records can have a number of consequences for both the court reporter and your client, including: Lost right to appeal. Federal laws give defendants the right to receive a record of their trial for review—an important step in the trial appeal process. But when transcripts, exhibits, or other trial records go missing, the defendant has effectively lost his right to an appeal, often leaving the court no choice but to retry the case. Suppressed evidence. An incomplete court record can have a devastating effect on the outcome of a case. Many attorneys have seen crucial evidence suppressed because of a simple omission of evidence documentation, such as failure to record a copy of the search warrant affidavit in the transcript.