No Qualifying Details in 'The Witness Indicated' Parentheticals
Parentheses
Rulebase Summary
When using expressions such as 'the witness responded,' 'the witness demonstrated,' or 'the witness pointed,' do not add any qualifying remarks related to what, when, how, or why. Do not indicate size, weight, distance, or position. Reporters are not to testify to any of these details — they observe and record, they do not interpret.
Examples
A. (The witness indicated the small scar on his left ankle.)
A. (The witness indicated.)
Don't add what, where, or how — the reporter doesn't testify.
A. (The witness pointed about three feet to the left of the car.)
A. (The witness pointed.)
No distance or position — bare gesture notation only.
Transcript Notes
The reporter's role is to record what is said, not to characterize what a witness's gesture meant. If the lawyers want the gesture described in the record, it is their responsibility to ask the witness to verbalize it or to describe it themselves on the record.
Style Guide References (1)
Morson's