Issues in transcription: factors affecting the reliability of transcripts as evidence in legal cases

Abstract

This article considers the reliability of transcripts used as evidence in court, especially transcripts of poor recordings. Background information about human speech and speech perception is presented, and the implications of this information for the use of transcripts of different kinds in legal contexts is considered. Finally, recommendations are made to allow judgement of the reliability of existing transcripts, ensure that newly created transcripts are reliable, and to ensure that transcripts are presented to a jury appropriately.