T-L Photo/ROBERT A. DEFRANK Court Reporter Kristi Lipscomb must be fast and accurate when taking down courtroom discussions during hearings and trials. She and fellow court reporter Vicky Bostic were recognized in February during National Court Reporter Week for their work. They are also promoting the field, which is in need of new reporters.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Words spoken before the bench whether during a harrowing trial or a more “average” court proceeding must be preserved for future reference — a responsibility that falls to the court reporter.

For years at the Belmont County Courthouse, Kristi Lipscomb has been a presence just beneath the bench during hearings and trials. She began looking into the career when she was in a typing class in high school.

She began working in the courthouse in 1996. Lipscomb said most programs of study to prepare for the job take two years to complete, and the training is exacting.

“Twenty-seven of us started our program, only seven of us finished. It’s difficult. It requires a lot of discipline and practice,” she said. “Not a lot of schooling, but a lot of time commitment.”

Lipscomb said the training emphasizes speed and accuracy.

After graduating, she did freelance deposition work and filled in for sick or vacationing court reporters before taking a permanent position at the courthouse.

The typical day of a court reporter has its share of stress.

“There’s some physical demands, just from sitting and not being able to stretch a lot. Your arms, your shoulders, your back,” she said, adding the job is also mentally demanding. “There’s difficult testimony. You have to concentrate. You have to get it all. You have to be able to read it back … write like you have to read it back.”

She must also prepare accurate transcripts of court proceedings.

“Some scary moments,” she said, recalling one time during the 2001 murder trial of

Nawaz Ahmed when he said he was too sick to participate in court. “The judge that was on the bench at the time needed to know, ‘What’s he saying?’ He refused to come out, so they sent me into the holding cell and I bent over the toilet with my machine and he’s by the door and I’m taking down what he said. That was scary for me. I had little kids at the time, young children. I was a little bit scared, but I had a job to do.”

In 2001, Ahmed was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of his estranged wife and three other members of her family in their St. Clairsville home. He is now on death row.

Lipscomb said trials can also become heated, with attorneys needing a reminder to speak clearly and not interrupt each other.

Lipscomb said Belmont County’s judges have been considerate of the duties of their court reporter.

“They’ve been wonderful,” she said.

Though the job is demanding, it is also a necessary one.

“Court reporters are very much needed. Our job is to protect the record. We’re the keepers of the record whether it’s in the courtroom, a deposition room, the legislature, they take down everything that’s said, word-for-word,” she said. “People later in history will look at that: ‘What happened? What was said?’ and we will have it.”

Court reporters are also responsible for documenting evidence and seeing that evidence is destroyed following a designated time span.

Feb. 4-11 was National Court Reporting and Captioning Week, set to recognize the role of court reporters and to promote the career.

Lipscomb added that there is a shortage of court reporters in the Ohio Valley.

“It’s a great job. It’s been a great job,” she said. “It does require commitment, but there’s opportunities now for people who think they might be interested.”

She said the Ohio Court Reporters Association and the National Court Reporters Association have online programs that allow the curious to experience the training to see if it is for them.

Lipscomb said there are many opportunities for those wishing to change careers. Interested people are also welcome to ask to “shadow” reporters at the courthouse.

For people interested in court reporting, Lipscomb said they must have qualities such as impartiality to maintain accuracy.

The other court reporter at the courthouse is Vickie Bostic, who has 48 years of experience and returned to court reporting two years ago.

“Their criminal docket has gotten so busy at Belmont County that they need another court reporter,” Bostic said. “I have stuck with it because it has given me the opportunity to be a part of the judicial system. As a freelancer, I could have traveled anywhere in the United States and worked.”

“Vicky was one of my mentors when I started court reporting,” Lipscomb said.

“Kristi is the epitome of a court reporter. She’s great at her job. She cares about what she does. She’s a good friend, and I think she’s done really well,” Bostic said.

The courthouse is located at 101 W. Market St., St. Clairsville. The National Court Reporters Association can be reached at ncra.org.