Substantive Due Process and the Stipulation Regime in Court Reporting

This is how the big agencies, who are proponents of digital recorders, are getting away with violating laws in 25 states that require transcripts be produced by licensed CSRs. They believe they can stipulate away the laws. A Veritext executive said they have found no law that prevents them from stipulating to use a digital instead of a stenographer.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution contains the “due process clause,” stating that no man shall be subject to the arbitrary deprivation of “life, liberty, or property” by the government. The Fourteenth Amendment expands due process protections to all U.S. citizens regardless of gender, race, or religion. Due process requires that legal matters be resolved according to established rules and principles and that individuals be treated fairly. The origin of due process is often attributed to the Magna Carta, a 13th-century document that outlined the relationship between the English monarchy, the Church, and feudal barons. In one of the clauses in the Magna Carta, the king promised: “No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.” This means, simply, that a judge must make a ruling on their stipulation.

What Is the Due Process Exclusionary Rule? If evidence is obtained in an illegal manner, such as via unreasonable search and seizure without a warrant, then it cannot be used in a court of law. If a transcript is made in an illegal manner, then it cannot be used in a court of law. Let me say that again: If a transcript is made in an illegal manner, then it cannot be used in a court of law.

Attorneys can stipulate to anything they want, but only a judge can make it so. If attorneys want to stipulate away a law, then they must bring it before the judge who will then make a ruling on their stipulation before it will be allowed.