Clean Verbatim
Updated: 7/22/25
As part of our ongoing effort to deliver clear, professional, and accurate transcripts, we are implementing a clean verbatim style for all speakers except for the Witness. The Witness’s speech will continue to be captured using full verbatim, but all other roles—including attorneys, digital reporters, and investigators—should be transcribed using clean verbatim rules within Depositions, Examinations Under Oath, and Sworn Statements.
This shift helps streamline readability and clarity while preserving the legal integrity of the record.
What Clean Verbatim Means
Clean verbatim is a style of transcription that removes nonessential speech patterns to create a more concise and professional transcript. Below are the key elements to watch for and remove:
1. False Starts
Phrases or sentences that are incomplete and quickly abandoned or corrected.
- Original: “It looks like-- is the driver still in the right turn lane?”
- Cleaned: “Is the driver still in the right turn lane?”
NOTE: When an attorney says "strike that" or "withdrawn", it does not mean the preceding words should be removed. In Clean Verbatim, false starts refer to incomplete or quickly abandoned sentence openings—typically where the speaker self-corrects or pivots mid-thought. However, "strike that" or "withdrawn" are often used rhetorically or procedurally by attorneys and do not qualify as a false starts. The words that come before "strike that" should still be transcribed unless they meet other criteria for exclusion.
2. Filler Words
Words that serve no meaningful function and only create clutter in the transcript.
Remove words like:
- Um
- Uh
- Like
- You know
- So (when used as a filler)
3. Non-Meaningful Repetitions
Words or phrases repeated out of habit or nervousness that don’t contribute to the content.
- Original: “Can-- Can-- Can you clarify what you meant in your last response?”
- Cleaned: “Can you clarify what you meant in your last response?”
4. Stutters
Partial words or repeated sounds that occur due to speech disfluency.
- Original: “D-- D-- D-- Did you check the Incident Report before this Deposition?”
- Cleaned: “Did you check the Incident Report before this Deposition?”
5. Introductory Lead-Ins
Words or short phrases that are habitually at the start of a sentence that serve no real function.
Common examples include:
Well
So
All right
Okay
Original: “Okay. All right, what color was the car?”
Cleaned: “What color was the car?”
NOTE: The key factor in deciding whether to remove introductory lead-ins is frequency. If a lead-in appears habitually throughout the transcript, it should be removed for conciseness and clarity. However, if it occurs only once or occasionally, it should be retained.
6. Slang
Slang and informal speech should be corrected to standard English for all non-Witness speakers (attorneys, digital reporters, investigators). This keeps transcripts professional and clear.
Examples (Non-witness speech):
| Spoken | Cleaned |
|---|---|
| “He didn’t wanna talk about it.” | “He didn't want to talk about it.” |
| “She kinda hesitated before answering.” | “She kind of hesitated before answering.” |
| “We're gonna need that document on the record.” | “We're going to need that document on the record.” |
| “You’re ’bout to be working where?” | “You're about to be working where?” |
NOTE: Slang should only be preserved in Witness blocks, where full verbatim still applies.
NOTE: [sic] should still be used within all speaker blocks.
NOTE: If a false start or introductory lead-in is overlapped with another speaker and would normally be removed under clean verbatim, you do not need to include it just to mark crosstalk.
- If what's overlapping is non-substantive and would be removed under clean verbatim rules → remove it, don't mark <crosstalk>.
- We only use <crosstalk> when substantive speech is actually overlapped and affected.
Witness Blocks Stay Full Verbatim
For legal accuracy and record fidelity, all Witness speaker blocks must still be transcribed in full verbatim. This ensures every utterance and nuance is preserved.
Exceptions
Do not apply clean verbatim rules to the following types of events:
- BWC (Body-Worn Camera)
- Interviews
- Phone Calls
These should continue to follow the full verbatim transcription style regardless of speaker.
NOTE: Before submitting your event, take a moment to use the global search bar to scan for common filler words and introductory lead-ins. This quick check helps ensure that these have been fully removed from all speakers except the Witness, who remains full verbatim.
Words to search for include:
- um
- uh
- like
- you know
- I mean
- so
- well
- okay
- all right
- hmm
- just (when used as a filler, not for precision)
If any of these appear in non-Witness blocks, double-check whether they can be removed under clean verbatim rules. This quick review pass is a great final polish to ensure clarity and consistency.