Court reporters are people who type out words that are spoken during legal proceedings. For example, a court reporter may type out testimonies, cross-examinations and other conversations that occur during a trial. They may also type out depositions and other proceedings. The purpose of having court reporters do this is so that the courts can have an official verbatim transcript for their records.
Court reporters are also known as stenographers. They receive special training and use special equipment in order to be able to type very fast. Being able to type fast is essential to the job of a court reporter, otherwise they will not be able to keep up with the conversations that happen during court proceedings. Because court reporters provide transcripts from court proceedings, the court can reference them later on if they need to.