ABSTRACT
John Hodgson took notes at the soldiers’ trial that would eventually stand as the formal record. John Adams stated that Hodgson was a “Scottish or English stenographer” who had acted on his own in taking notes at that trial and at Preston’s before. As in England, Massachusetts courts did not have clerks to record proceedings. Even the Court of King’s Bench in London relied on professional note-takers, whose versions could end up as part of the official record. The only check on their accuracy would be the judges who presided. They had the right to review transcriptions before they were published.
