Court reporters get paid by the page — $5 per page, in south Florida — and according to allegations in a class action that one lawyer has filed, they’ve been padding their incomes by inserting extra white space into some of those depositions and hearing transcripts. A Broward County administrator “says the tricks are old and common” and a Dade County administrator says that county, a major purchaser of court reporting services, “audits more than 2,000 transcripts a month and finds problems with about one in 10.” Less-savvy participants in courtroom processes may never notice, say, the use of a margin wider than that prescribed by state law. (Noah Bierman, “Lawyer claims court reporting agency fudging margins and bottom line”, Miami Herald, Jan. 13).