Court Reporter Relives Every Word Of The Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Trial

It's been just over a year since Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter delivered guilty verdicts to eleven educators in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial. The trial lasted eight months, the longest in the state's history. The appeals process is set to begin later this year. 

But first, thousands of pages of testimony need to be transcribed. That task falls to court reporter Evelyn Parker. Each day she relives every moment, every word of the APS trial. 

Producer Linda Chen visited her office at the Fulton County Justice Center Tower and brings us this audio postcard. 

"There are times when I can hear the trial at night as I'm trying to sleep. I can hear the voices. It practically rewinds in my head," said court reporter Evelyn Parker about transcribing the Atlanta Public Schools cheating trial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReN-CTeI61s

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Evelyn's stenograph has only 14 keys, a number bar, and vowels. The keys are unmarked so she memorized the keys. She doesn't type letters but the syllables and sounds of the words.

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Court reporter Evelyn Parker has worked with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter for 16 years. / Linda Chen/GPB News