When a Video Is Played in Court – How to Handle, Certify, and Communicate It Professionally

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Every working reporter in California eventually encounters it: a civil trial where counsel wants a video deposition played in open court and asks, “Can you just insert this into your transcript?”

It sounds simple — until you consider certification, authority, and your license. Handling this request properly requires knowing when to take it down, how to label it, and how to communicate boundaries with counsel and the court without creating tension. Let’s walk through exactly what to do.

1. Understand the Governing Rule: California Rule of Court 2.1040

The controlling authority is California Rule of Court 2.1040, Electronic recordings presented or offered into evidence.

  • Subdivision (d) states: “Unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge, the court reporter need not take down the content of an electronic recording that is presented or offered into evidence.”

That means you, as the reporter, do not take down a video or audio recording by default — unless the judge orders you to.

If counsel wants it reported, your first professional step is to redirect politely:

“Counsel, I can take it down if the court so orders under Rule 2.1040(d). Would you like to make that request on the record?”

This keeps you in compliance while appearing cooperative. It’s the judge’s call, not yours or the attorney’s.

2. The CRB’s Position on Certification

The Court Reporters Board of California (CRB) has consistently disciplined licensees for improper or misleading transcript certification. Under Business and Professions Code § 8025(d) and Title 16 CCR § 2475(b)(4), a reporter can face action for “unprofessional conduct in the execution and certification of transcripts.”

The logic is simple: your certificate represents that you were the officer who personally reported the proceeding. You cannot legally certify something you did not personally attend, swear, and report in real time.

If you later transcribe an audio or video portion, you must label and certify it separately as an after-the-fact transcription — never as shorthand notes you personally took.

3. How to Format the Transcript

Once the judge orders you to take down the video, you’ll report it as it plays. However, the record must show that you were transcribing from a recording, not reporting a live witness.

Before the playback begins, insert a clear parenthetical on its own line:

(The following portion is a transcription of an electronic recording played in open court, transcribed pursuant to court order under Rule 2.1040(d).)

If you know the duration or have timestamps, you can add:

(Video recording begins at 00:00:00.)
… [transcribed dialogue] …
(Video recording ends at 00:05:32.)

After the playback, return to ordinary reporting format for live proceedings.

This language is defensible under both the Rules of Court and CRB disciplinary standards because it transparently identifies what you did and under whose authority.

4. How to Word the Certificate Page

At the end of the transcript, include a blended certification distinguishing between your live shorthand record and the transcribed recording.

Sample Certificate:

REPORTER’S CERTIFICATE

I, [Your Name], CSR No. ____, Official Pro Tempore of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, do hereby certify:

That I reported in shorthand (stenotype) the proceedings held in the above-entitled cause as ordered by the court; that the foregoing pages contain a full, true, and correct transcript of my shorthand notes so taken; and that the portion designated as a “transcription of an electronic recording” was prepared after the fact from an electronic recording played in open court pursuant to court order, in accordance with Rules 2.1040(d) and 8.917(d).

Dated: __________

[Your Name], CSR No. ____
Official Pro Tempore, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

This language mirrors the “recording-transcript certification” used in Rule 8.917(d) for transcripts of official electronic recordings and aligns with CRB’s expectations for accuracy and integrity.

5. Why You Can’t “Insert” the Lodged Transcript

Attorneys often assume you can copy and paste the lodged deposition transcript directly into your trial transcript. That’s a big no.

Here’s why:

  • The lodged transcript is an exhibit prepared by the deposition officer, certified under CCP § 2025.540.
  • Your court transcript is a separate official record of what occurred in court.
  • You cannot merge another reporter’s certified work into yours or sign off on pages you didn’t create.
  • The clerk still must receive and maintain the lodged deposition transcript separately as part of the trial record.

Your role is to capture the playback itself — what the jury and court heard — not to reproduce the lodged transcript inside your own.

6. How to Communicate This Diplomatically

Attorneys are often focused on efficiency, not the regulatory fine print. The key is to educate without sounding bureaucratic or obstructive.

Here’s a suggested tone and phrasing you can use:

“I can absolutely take down the video if the court so orders under Rule 2.1040. Once the judge authorizes it, I’ll report the playback and clearly mark that it’s a transcription of the electronic recording. My certification will reflect that I didn’t personally report the original deposition — just the playback that occurred in court.

You’ll still need to lodge the deposition transcript with the clerk; my record can’t substitute for that. But I’ll make sure the transcript reflects exactly what was played for the jury.”

This communicates cooperation, cites the authority, and makes it clear you’re protecting both your license and the record’s integrity.

7. What to Do If the Judge Doesn’t Order It

If counsel requests you “take it down,” but the court remains silent, you must not begin reporting the video on your own initiative. Politely pause:

“Your Honor, counsel has requested that the video be reported. Would the court like me to take it down under Rule 2.1040?”

If the judge says no, you’re off the hook. If the judge says yes, you’re covered. Always get that order on the record before you start.

8. Protecting Yourself and the Record

Following this procedure protects you in three ways:

  1. Regulatory compliance: You’re acting only under judicial order and within CRB and CRC guidelines.
  2. Transparency: Your parenthetical and certificate make the nature of the record unmistakable.
  3. Professional credibility: You show counsel and the court that you know your rules — and you’re protecting everyone’s record integrity.

Remember: your name and license number on that certificate carry the full weight of your professional oath. A few lines of explanatory language now can save you an enforcement nightmare later.

9. The Bottom Line

When a video is played in court:

  1. Confirm judicial order under CRC 2.1040(d).
  2. Insert a parenthetical before playback identifying it as a transcription of an electronic recording.
  3. Transcribe faithfully what’s played.
  4. Use dual certification language distinguishing live notes from recorded material.
  5. Educate counsel diplomatically: you can accommodate their request, but only through the judge and within the law.

By doing so, you maintain the record’s integrity, comply with CRB standards, and preserve your professional standing — all while keeping the attorneys happy and the court running smoothly.

🏛️ Quick Reference

  • CRC 2.1040(d): Reporter need not take down video unless court orders it.
  • CRC 8.917(d): Provides model certification for recordings transcribed after the fact.
  • CCP § 2025.540: Deposition officer’s certification — only the attending reporter may certify.
  • B&P § 8025(d),(e); 16 CCR § 2475: CRB authority for discipline on improper certification.

In short: you can accommodate, you can cooperate — but you can’t compromise your certification. Handle it with grace, authority, and transparency, and you’ll earn the respect of both the bench and bar.

StenoImperium
Court Reporting. Unfiltered. Unafraid.

Disclaimer

“This article includes analysis and commentary based on observed events, public records, and legal statutes.”

The content of this post is intended for informational and discussion purposes only. All opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are based on publicly available information, industry standards, and good-faith concerns about nonprofit governance and professional ethics. No part of this article is intended to defame, accuse, or misrepresent any individual or organization. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and to engage constructively in dialogue about leadership, transparency, and accountability in the court reporting profession.

  • The content on this blog represents the personal opinions, observations, and commentary of the author. It is intended for editorial and journalistic purposes and is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
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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.

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