What role does a CSR play when a witness is speaking too fast?

A California Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) has the responsibility to create an accurate and verbatim transcript of the proceedings, which includes spoken testimony from witnesses. When a witness speaks too fast, it's crucial for the CSR to focus on maintaining the integrity of their transcription while doing their best to keep pace with the speech. This can involve using shorthand techniques and skills that they have mastered during their training.

The role of the CSR is not only to capture the words being spoken but also to ensure that they can produce a legible and precise record of the entire session. Interrupting the witness to slow down, ignoring the rapid speech, or pausing the proceedings are not practical options as they can disrupt the flow of the testimony and compromise the record. Therefore, the most appropriate response for the CSR is to strive to keep up with the transcription, utilizing their training and skills effectively to create an accurate account of the testimony.