“The Spoken Word Perishes – The Written Word Remains”

          Congratulations Stacey Burns, winner of the Spring Semester Essay Contest at the Commack Campus. The topic of this essay was: “Discuss the importance and value of the court reporter’s transcript to the legal system.” It was quite obvious from her submission that Ms. Burns devoted a great deal of time researching this subject and writing her essay. She provided an interesting background of the history of court reporting and gave a thorough analysis of how the deposition transcript is used in the legal system also by the attorneys representing the plaintiffs and the defendants. She also demonstrated how very important the transcript becomes when a case reaches the Court of Appeals. Ms. Burns concluded her essay with an interview of an attorney who noted the many ways he utilizes the court reporter’s transcript. He also stated the importance of memorializing the exact words of individuals who are deposed as their words often come back years later to either make or break the case.