![handle is hein.journals/armylaw1974 and id is 1 raw text is: FOE y
JANUARY 1974
I
D A PAMPHLET 27-50-13 HEADQUARTERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, WASHINGTON, D. C.
A Court Reporter Speaks ...
By: SP7 Art Gunderman, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
Court reporting is an old and much honored
profession; an endeavor of which its practi-
tioners are justly proud. Wherever statesmen
speak, a reporter is close by, recording their
words for dissemination to the public and for
posterity. Whenever a bad conduct discharge
special or general court-martial is convened,
anywhere in the world, a court reporter is
recording those proceedings to preserve for-
ever an accurate account of what transpired
that day. By his finished product, the court
reporter paints a complete picture of the trial
upon which the reviewers, including the staff
judge advocate, the convening authority, the
Army Court of Military Review, and the
Court of Military Appeals, rely in making
their decisions. The reporter's responsibility
is an awesome one.
The role of the Army court reporter has re-
mained remarkably unchanged for the past
45 or 50 years. Article of War 115, found in
Appendix 1, A Manual for Courts-Martial, U.
S. Army, 1928, is nearly identical in language
to Article 28, Uniform Code of Military Jus-
tice, found in Appendix 2, Manual for Courts-
Martial, United States, 1969 (Revised Edi-
tion). Similarly, duties of the court reporter
(Para 46b, MCM, 1928; and Para 49b[1],
MCM, 1969 [Rev]) remain essentially un-
changed.
One difference worthy of mention is the
fact that in years.gone by, the enlisted court
reporter was given extra pay for his tran-
scripts. This pay, pursuant to Act of Congress
dated 25 August 1937, was at the rate of 25
cents for each 100 words transcribed and 10
cents for each 100 words of the first and each
additional carbon copy. This reimbursement
policy, abandoned during the early 50's, was
again reinstated with the award of proficiency
pay (P-2) to court reporters. Our modern
system of compensation is probably much
more equitable, as income no longer fluctuates
with case load, but remains constant regard-
less of the instability of the docket.
With 17 years military service, ten of which
have been in court reporting and legal clerk
positions, I appreciate this opportunity to
speak to such a large and distinguished aud-
ience of judge advocates, military judges,
court reporters and legal clerks as is provided
by the medium of The Army Lawyer. I pro-
pose to address myself to specific persons and
positions within the Corps and hope that my
comments a n d observations reflect t h e
thoughts of the majority of court reporters
now on active duty.
... to The Judge Advocate General.
Much improvement.in the lot of the court
reporter has occurred in recent years. Men-
tioned earlier, award of proficiency pay has
enchanced court reporting as a career field.
Exemption from additional duties in overseas
areas is also a big morale boost. However,
there is, at all levels within the Corps, agree-
ment that much remains to be done if report-
ers are to attain a status in the military any-
where near their counterparts in the civilian
community.
In 1970, the Judge Advocate Agency, Com-
bat Developments Command, prepared an ex-
tensive report on court reporting systems in
the Army, concluding that the Army court
reporter should be a Warrant Officer Steno-
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