Inside the Diddy Trial – The Rock Star is the Real-Time Court Reporter Behind the Scenes – While Media Leans on AI

Posted bystenoimperiumPosted inCourt ReportingTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the ongoing federal trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, a significant yet underappreciated figure is the court reporter capturing every word spoken in the courtroom. While media outlets often reference AI-generated transcripts, the official record is meticulously documented by a live stenographer from Southern District Reporters, P.C., the official court reporting firm for the Southern District of New York. This professional provides real-time transcription, ensuring an accurate and immediate record of the proceedings.

The question all stenographers are asking around the country right now: Who is the incredibly skilled stenographic realtime reporter producing the daily transcripts and instant realtime feed to the judge and attorneys during this trial?

This is just a random court reporter.

The official court reporter for Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal trial is still unknown. But the Raquel Robles, who serves as the Chief Court Reporter at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, leads a team of certified real-time stenographic reporters responsible for producing official transcripts of federal court proceedings, including high-profile cases such as the ongoing trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs. With extensive experience in real-time stenographic reporting, Robles is responsible for producing the official transcripts of court trial proceedings like this one.

(A clue. )

Despite the presence of this skilled stenographer, many media reports rely on AI-generated summaries. For instance, Court TV has openly stated that their transcripts are AI-generated, leading to confusion among viewers who assume they are reading official court records. This reliance on AI has sparked discussions among legal professionals and court reporters, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of human expertise in accurately capturing courtroom dialogue.

Legal affairs journalist Meghann Cuniff has highlighted the exemplary work of the court reporter in this trial, acknowledging the challenges of real-time transcription in such a high-profile case. She has also pointed out the discrepancies between official transcripts and AI-generated summaries, underscoring the potential for inaccuracies when relying solely on artificial intelligence.

The trial, which began on May 12, 2025, involves serious charges against Combs, including racketeering and sex trafficking. The proceedings have garnered significant media attention, with journalistic reporters like Cuniff providing detailed coverage. However, the limitations on electronic devices in the courtroom mean that real-time updates are often based on AI-generated content, further highlighting the importance of the official court reporter’s work.

In conclusion, while AI technology offers convenience, it cannot replace the precision and reliability of a professional court reporter. The ongoing Diddy trial serves as a reminder of the critical role these individuals play in the justice system, ensuring that every word is accurately recorded for the official record.

** Correction Note for Article on the Diddy Trial:

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Raquel Robles, Chief Court Reporter for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, is personally covering the Sean “Diddy” Combs federal trial. In fact, multiple court reporters from the Southern District are rotating or jointly handling the real-time reporting duties for this high-profile case. Robles, as Chief, oversees court reporting operations but is not personally transcribing the proceedings.

Editorial Note: The image used in this article is a stock photo and does not depict any of the court reporters working on the Diddy trial.

We regret the errors and sincerely thank the court reporting community for pointing out the inaccuracies.

Published by stenoimperium

We exist to facilitate the fortifying of the Stenography profession and ensure its survival for the next hundred years! As court reporters, we've handed the relationship role with our customers, or attorneys, over to the agencies and their sales reps.  This has done a lot of damage to our industry.  It has taken away our ability to have those relationships, the ability to be humanized and valued.  We've become a replaceable commodity. Merely saying we are the “Gold Standard” tells them that we’re the best, but there are alternatives.  Who we are though, is much, much more powerful than that!  We are the Responsible Charge.  “Responsible Charge” means responsibility for the direction, control, supervision, and possession of stenographic & transcription work, as the case may be, to assure that the work product has been critically examined and evaluated for compliance with appropriate professional standards by a licensee in the profession, and by sealing and signing the documents, the professional stenographer accepts responsibility for the stenographic or transcription work, respectively, represented by the documents and that applicable stenographic and professional standards have been met.  This designation exists in other professions, such as engineering, land surveying, public water works, landscape architects, land surveyors, fire preventionists, geologists, architects, and more.  In the case of professional engineers, the engineering association adopted a Responsible Charge position statement that says, “A professional engineer is only considered to be in responsible charge of an engineering work if the professional engineer makes independent professional decisions regarding the engineering work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional engineer’s physical presence at the location where the engineering work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the engineering work.” If we were to adopt a Responsible Charge position statement for our industry, we could start with a draft that looks something like this: "A professional court reporter, or stenographer, is only considered to be in responsible charge of court reporting work if the professional court reporter makes independent professional decisions regarding the court reporting work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional court reporter’s physical presence at the location where the court reporting work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the court reporting work.” Shared purpose The cornerstone of a strategic narrative is a shared purpose. This shared purpose is the outcome that you and your customer are working toward together. It’s more than a value proposition of what you deliver to them. Or a mission of what you do for the world. It’s the journey that you are on with them. By having a shared purpose, the relationship shifts from consumer to co-creator. In court reporting, our mission is “to bring justice to every litigant in the U.S.”  That purpose is shared by all involved in the litigation process – judges, attorneys, everyone.  Who we are is the Responsible Charge.  How we do that is by Protecting the Record.

One thought on “Inside the Diddy Trial – The Rock Star is the Real-Time Court Reporter Behind the Scenes – While Media Leans on AI”

  1. Amazing! Thank you for sending me this article. Madam court reporter will make us all proud.

    Patricia R. Madrid, CSR, RPR
    Official Court Reporter
    County Court at Law Number Five
    500 E. San Antonio, Rm. 803
    El Paso, Texas 79901

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