...makes Jack a dull boy:

"An alcoholic Manhattan court stenographer went rogue, channeling his inner “Shining” during a high-profile criminal trial and repeatedly typing, “I hate my job, I hate my job” instead of the trial dialogue, sources told The Post.

The bizarre antics by Daniel Kochanski, who has since been fired, wreaked havoc on some 30 Manhattan court cases, sources said, and now officials are scrambling to repair the damage.

One high-level source said his “gibberish” typing may have jeopardized hard-won convictions by giving criminals the chance to claim crucial evidence is missing.

Kochanski’s botched transcripts include the 2010 mortgage-fraud trial of Aaron Hand, who was also convicted of trying to hire a hit man to take out a witness against him.

A source familiar with the case said Kochanski’s transcripts of that trial were a total mess.

“It should have been questions and answers — instead it was gibberish,” the source said.

And in a scene right out of 1980’s “The Shining,” where Jack Nicholson’s off-the-rails writer repeatedly types “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” a source said of Kochanski: “He hit random keys or wrote, ‘I hate my job. I hate my job. I hate my job,’ over and over.” "

More here: http://nypost.com/2014/04/03/alcoholic-c......erdicts/

That's a good example of why court proceedings should be recorded electronically as well as by a stenographer.

An old friend of mine, Stan Bates, or Master Bates as we called him, a snooker hustler, married a lady who owned the contract business which supplied all stenographers to our courts and became a wealthy a fellow. According to him if the stenographer makes a mistake, then the transcript is wrong and a fellow can win an appeal. It was not worth him doing it, as they would lose the contract and may end up in jail themselves. Some cases are boring and some are not. Some cases are very amusing or fascinating to listen to. I can think of worse jobs than a stenographer. One has to take the good and the bad in anything one does for a living I think. Today, here, they have tape recordings in courts and I am not sure how it works now with regard to stenographers. I think they may not even exist any longer in the way they used to. I have not seen the old hustler for a long time now.

I was curious if court reporters are now being phased out. I found this interesting article regarding the question that Tommy asked.

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/0......urtroom/

Even in those courts that use tape recordings, a stenographer is used to make a transcript when one is requested for appeal purposes, etc.

They're also used to record depositions.

Yes. And, personally, I never had a problem with one regarding accuracy.