In the legal field in Canada, something as simple as an incorrect comma or letter in a legal transcription can change everything. It could lead to an incorrect sentence being passed by the judge, causing a miscarriage of justice.
With more than 5 million people in Canada facing legal trouble every year, ensuring accuracy in legal transcriptions is important.
Let’s explore why below.
What Are Legal Transcriptions?
Legal transcriptions refer to listening to audio and video recordings after a court case is over and noting everything down. These details are noted by transcribers at events like court proceedings, depositions, and police interrogations depositions and medical hearings.
The transcribers are either employees of legal transcription services in Canada or self-employed.
These transcriptions involve the use of legal terminology, the correct punctuation, grammar, and the details of events exactly as they happened.
How Are They Different From Court Recordings?
Court recordings are done by court recorders and take place during the event, such as a deposition or hearing, and so on. However, due to the real-time nature of the task, sometimes, they make mistakes.
For example, during a trial, a court reporter in Brampton might incorrectly record perjury as a contempt of court. This would affect the final sentence passed by the judge.
Legal transcriptions, on the other hand, take place after the trial, deposition, or hearing. Unlike court recorders, legal transcribers can take their time. They can rewind the video or replay certain sections to ensure complete accuracy.
But why is this accuracy so highly valued? Let’s consider that below.
Why Accuracy Is Non-Negotiable in Legal Transcriptions?
There are many reasons why maintaining accuracy is important in legal transcriptions. Let’s explore them below.
Supports Fair Legal Outcomes
Having accurate transcriptions prevents:
- Misinterpretations
- Wrongful judgments
- Appeals.
For example, say you were wrongfully convicted of stealing snacks from a convenience store.
An incorrect transcription could record the wrong time and place where you said you were when the robbery occurred. This could lead to your wrongful imprisonment.
On the other hand, if you said, for example, that you got hit by a pedestrian on the road. The incorrectly recorded transcription could record that you hit the pedestrian instead. This is an example of misinterpretation.
Transcripts are also used as evidence in courts during hearings, depositions, or trials. So, incorrectly recorded transcriptions could lead to incorrect judgments or cause mistrials.
Ensures Legal Compliance
Courts are often audited by the Office of the Auditor General to assure the Canadian public that the court is functioning normally. These audits ensure compliance with the prevailing federal laws, court procedures, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and so on.
In case any discrepancies are found during the audit, the evidence or transcripts can be dismissed or considered inadmissible.
Protects Lawyer-Client Confidentiality
Self-employed transcribers or those working with legal transcription services often sign NDAs or Non-Disclosure Agreements. These agreements protect the client-attorney privilege, since they contain all communication records.
An incorrectly recorded statement or an ambiguous statement could harm the client’s position or lead to a breach of privileged information. For example, an incorrectly recorded transcription could accidentally reveal the approximate location of someone under witness protection.
This could endanger that person’s life.
Saves Time and Cost
As we’ve already mentioned, incorrectly recorded transcriptions can lead to dismissal of evidence, mistrials, and more. But that’s not all. They also lead to increased costs since you have to get them reviewed and reworked by legal teams.
They could bill you more for this, leading to an increase in your expenses. These errors could vary across grammatical, formatting, or informative sectors.
Maintains Professional Integrity
Law firms and courts often depend on reliable transcripts for day-to-day functioning. So legal transcription services that churn out high-quality transcripts are more valued than those that do not.
Can Be Used As Referral/Case Study Material
Accurately recorded transcriptions can be used as referral or case study material. In fact, copies of these transcriptions are often studied at law universities. Law students use these transcripts to understand the nature of framing arguments and defending their clients.
On the other hand, journalists or other lawyers also use the transcripts of old cases. Journalists use them to write their articles, while other lawyers use them as support for their arguments for other cases.
For example, during a financial fraud case, lawyers could use the previous transcript to support an argument in another financial fraud case.
What Are The Risks and Consequences of Inaccurate Transcriptions?
Let’s take a brief look a the risks of using inaccurate transcriptions below:
| Type of Error In Legal Transcript | Potential Consequence |
| Misheard/Incorrectly Recorded Testimony | Wrongful conviction or acquittal, breach of client-attorney privilege |
| Incorrect Dates/Names | Legal confusion or misidentification, dismissal of alibis |
| Omitted Information | Gaps in the record affecting legal strategy, inefficient operations |
| Formatting Errors | Rejection by court clerks or delays, financial losses |
Table 1: Consequences of Incorrect Transcriptions
How to Ensure High Accuracy in Legal Transcriptions?
Some of the ways in which you can ensure high accuracy during legal transactions include:
- Hiring Trained Professionals With Appropriate Knowledge and Skills
For example, a legal transcriber should have good typing skills, be detail-oriented, and be well-versed in legal terms.
- Using Quality Audio Equipment During Recordings
Using high-end video camcorders with audio recorders like TASCAM ensures that everything that is said is captured. This minimizes the errors that would be caused during transcription.
- Implementing QA Processes
Editing and proofreading are an important part of quality assurance process after a transcription has been completed. They ensure that no factual, grammatical or formatting errors remain.
You should also have the transcripts reviewed by other lawyers to ensure that everything is top-notch.
- Choosing reputable transcription software or services
Hiring reputed legal transcription services ensures that all your transcriptions are professionally done, with no room for any unwanted errors.
The Final Word
Accurate legal transcriptions ensure that justice is carried out and that courts can ensure and maintain legal compliance. These transcriptions also protect the attorney-client privilege and prevent increased costs due to revisions.
Choose Accuracy, Choose Justice
Have you been looking for fast, court-compliant legal transcriptions? Choose experts who value accuracy, confidentiality, and turnaround time today!
