Is it okay to use italics, bold or other form of differentiation on court ready forensic transcripts?
Foreign words, mispronunciations, drug code, ciphers and slang are transcribed as they are heard. Do not use italics or other form of differentiation which may constitute editorializing. Although the use of italics, bold, quotation marks or capitalization used as emphasis may be acceptable in transcript preparation for other purposes, it is not acceptable in a transcript destined for evidentiary use in court. The use of such emphasis may be construed as reflecting the theory of the case of the party proffering the transcript. For example, in United States v. Gonzalez-Maldonado, 115 F. 3d 9, 17 (1st Cir. 1997), the appellate court held that the trial court improperly allowed the government to submit to the jury transcripts that had the words ticket and accident in quotes, allegedly referring to money and arrest, respectively.
