Litigation Support and Professional Assistance
Court Reporter FAQs
How to Become a Court Reporter
How can I become a US based Court Reporter?
Certifications
What is the advantage to becoming a Registered Professional Reporter (RPR)?
What is the RPR Exam?
What is the advantage to becoming a Registered Merit Reporter (RMR)?
What is the RMR Exam?
What does the Registered Diplomat Reporter (RDR) certification signify?
What is the RDR Exam?
What is the Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI) program?
What is a Master Certified Reporting Instructor (MCRI)?
What is the significance of the Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS) certification?
What is the Certified Manager of Reporting Services (CMRS) Program?
What are the advantages of becoming a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR)?
Technology
What are some of the technologies that are having a direct effect on the court reporting marketplace today?
What is Interactive Realtime Reporting?
What advantages are available to court reporters on the Internet?
Software
What is Discovery ZX?
What is LiveNote?
What is CaseView?
Scopists
What is the function of a scopist?
Why do court reporters use scopists?
Transcribing Interpreted Testimony
What steps must be taken when swearing in the witness and the Interpreter?
How is the interpreted word transcribed?
How should the transcript look if the interpreter does not use the first person?
Q. How can I become a U.S. based Court Reporter?
A. In order to become a Court Reporter, you must first pass the Court Reporting Exams. When deciding where you want to conduct your training, you should be aware that only about a third of the 300 schools and colleges that offer court reporting are accredited by the National Court Reporters Association, one of whose requirements is to teach computer-aided transcription. If you believe that you can pass the exams by studying on your own, then a degree from one of these institutions is helpful, but not required.
There may be some additional requirements you must meet. Some states require Court Reporters to pass additional state-specific certification tests, such as the Certified Court Reporter (CCR) test or the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) two-part exam. In addition, court reporters must also be notary publics in a few states.
The federal government stipulates that court reporters transcribe at least 175 words per minute to qualify for employment. Typically, private firms require a minimum of 225 words per minute.
Q. What is the advantage to becoming a Registered Professional Reporter (RPR)?
A. The Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) program is the only nationally recognized certification program that establishes your competence as a reporter. It is generally regarded that this is the first phase in becoming a court reporter.
Q. What is the RPR Exam?
A. NCRA administers the RPR Exam twice annually at over 100 sites across the U.S. and other selected locations--the first Saturday in May and the first Saturday in November.
To become an RPR, you must be able to produce a high-quality verbatim record. There are two parts to the examination -Written Knowledge Test and a Skills Test. The Written Knowledge Test is a 100-question, multiple-choice test that focuses on four areas--reporting (48%), transcript production (44%), operating practices (4%), and professional issues and continuing education (4%). You get 90 minutes to complete this section of the exam. A passing score is 70% or better.
The Skills Test challenges you with 15 minutes of dictation--five minutes each of literary matter at 180 wpm, jury charge at 200 wpm, and testimony/Q&A at 225 wpm. After the dictation, you get 3 and 1/2 hours to transcribe your notes. You must transcribe each section with 95% accuracy to pass.
Q. What is the advantage to becoming a Registered Merit Reporter?
A. With your RMR, your peers and clients will recognize you as one of the top court reporters in the country. Your RMR gives you more opportunities for challenging and lucrative job assignments. Becoming a RMR is generally seen as a level of achievement worthy of a higher salary and more recognition.
You must be an RPR with membership dues paid in full to take the Skills Test. You must meet the following eligibility requirements to take the RMR Written Knowledge Test (WKT):
§ Be an RPR for three (3) consecutive years, OR
§ Be an RPR and an NCRA member for four (4) consecutive years, OR
§ Be an RPR and have been a practicing reporter for six (6) consecutive years, OR
§ Be an RPR and hold a bachelor's degree.
Q. What is the RMR Exam?
A. The RMR Exam consists of a 100-question Written Knowledge Test (WKT) that focuses on four areas of knowledge--reporting (47%), transcript production (41%), administration (6%), and professional issues and continuing education (6%). You must score a minimum of 70% to pass the WKT.
To earn your RMR, you'll also have to pass three sections of a skills test that evaluates you in three areas--Literary at 200 wpm, Jury Charge at 240 wpm, and Testimony/Q&A at 260 wpm. After dictation, you have 75 minutes to transcribe your notes from each leg. You must have 95% accuracy on each leg to pass.
You do not have to pass all sections of the exam at one sitting. As long as you maintain your NCRA membership, you will retain credit for the sections passed. There is no time limit for earning the RMR.
Q. What does the Registered Diplomat Reporter (RDR) certification signify?
A. The RDR is the highest level of certification available to court reporters. This certification program was developed to allow high-level, seasoned reporters to distinguish themselves as members of the profession's elite.
To qualify for the 100-question, multiple choice RDR Exam, you must be acurrent member of NCRA and meet ONE of the following requirements:
§ Have five consecutive years of experience as an RMR or,
§ Be an RMR and hold a four-year baccalaureate degree or,
§ Be an RMR with two or more NCRA specialty certifications --
CLVS, CRI, MCRI, CRRSM, CMRS, or CPE.
Q. What is the RDR Exam?
A. The RDR Exam consists of a 100-question, multiple-choice Written Knowledge Test (WKT) that focuses on six areas--reporting (35%), transcript production (27%), management (11%), education (10%), marketing (8%), and professional issues (9%). You must score 70% or better to pass the exam.
The exam is designed to test your knowledge and experience. There is a study guide available; however, NCRA recommends you also be familiar with new reporting technology, NCRA policies and guidelines, and articles published in the Journal of Court Reporting to prepare for the exam.
Q. What is the Certified Reporting Instructor program?
A. The CRI certification program was designed to recognize that excellence in teaching is a composite of many traits, skills, and knowledge. The program addresses the needs of those instructors who have professional certification and professional experience in the court reporting field and the needs of those instructors who have extensive formal education in pedagogy.
Q. What is a Master Certified Reporting Instructor (MCRI)?
A. A Master Certified Reporting Instructor (MCRI) is someone who has received the highest honor the court reporting education profession has to bestow. MCRI certification is a badge of merit, declaring that an instructor is highly accomplished, having met rigorous professional teaching standards by completing a multi-phase, performance-based assessment process.
Instructors are recognized for their knowledge of court reporting, understanding of learning processes, demonstrated classroom expertise, and contributions to the profession. Master Certified Reporting Instructors serve as role models and spokespeople for court reporting education.
Q. What is the significance of the Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS) certification?
A. The CLVS certifies that you are adept in the use of video in the legal environment, familiar with courtroom video and video deposition techniques as a legal video experts.
Q. What is the Certified Manager of Reporting Services (CMRS) Program?
A. The Certified Manager of Reporting Services (CMRS) Program instructs you in the operations of a court reporting business and the supervision of reporters. It teaches you to meet budgets and prepare marketing plans, and it prepares you to cope with the ever changing environment of Court Reporting.
Q. What are the advantages of becoming a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR)?
A. Certified Realtime Reporters developed because of the advantages of the growing number of opportunities becoming available to realtime reporters. As one of the top national programs that certifies your ability in realtime, attaining the CRRSM designation commands instant respect and the immediate attention of potential employers, proving that you're on the cutting edge.
You must be a member in good standing of NCRA and a current RPR to register for the CRR.
The CRR Exam consists of three steps:
1. Setting up and operating your equipment.
2. Accurately writing realtime for five minutes from professionally recorded straight matter ranging in speed from 180-200 words per minute.
3. Converting your file to an ASCII text file. You are only graded on your final submitted text file.
Q. What are some of the technologies that are having a direct effect on the court reporting marketplace today?
A. In recent years, technology has begun to have a major effect on court reporting. To stay up-to-date, a court reporter must be familiar with Interactive Realtime Reporting, Videoconferencing, Internet Communications and Encrypted E-mail Services.
Q. What is Interactive Realtime Reporting?
Realtime Reporting is the instantaneous display of testimony on computer screens. Court reporters report and translate deposition testimony, simultaneously transmitting what's said to laptop computers, computer monitors or large projections screens situated throughout the deposition suite. Realtime transcripts can also be printed at the same time that the deposition is taking place.
Taking this advanced technology one step further, Interactive Realtime Reporting connects the attorneys to the reporter's computer, allowing them to receive realtime testimony on their own notebook computer and the ability to utilize interactive realtime software functions.
Q. What advantages are available to court reporters on the Internet?
A. In order to stay competitive, court reporters, like nearly every other service provider today, must become familiar with the Internet. The Internet offers a number of advantages to court reporters:
Research. There is no more cost-efficient, expansive or rapid research tool than the Internet. Research is an integral part of court reporting, especially when dealing with expert witnesses and obscure words or facts. With the Internet there is direct access to thousands of dictionaries, encyclopedias and experts worldwide, plus the ability to communicate with your colleagues, any time, any day.
Communications. It is estimated that within the next few years, 98 percent of U.S. businesses and 82 percent of the adult (over 18) population will have one or more e-mail addresses. Everything from scheduling a deposition, confirmation, the deposition itself, remote participation by attorneys using realtime, transcript preparation and its accompanying research, delivery, billing, payment and collections will involve the Internet.
Advertising. Some websites, such as Legal Language Services, provide a highly visible, cost-effective, convenient platform from which reporting firms, large and small, can establish their professional presence on the Internet and advertise their services to the world.
Q. What is Discovery ZX?
A. Discovery ZX a full-text search and retrieval annotation and report-generation software, enabling the client to search for key words and phrases across select transcripts or an entire database of up to 999 individual transcripts. The compilation of a database of expert and trial testimony is an invaluable tool that can be utilized by litigators.
Q. What is LiveNote?
A. LiveNote transforms the inefficient and costly task of analyzing testimony into a proficient and economical resource. LiveNote incorporates a simple to use Windows (3.x, 95, 98, NT) interface, high performance features and a program that will accept all standard ASCII files including those received during a realtime reported proceeding and integration of video testimony linked and searchable to the testimony.
LiveNote is specifically designed to enable attorneys to view, mark, annotate, search text and generate reports while on-line to the reporter as well as off-line anytime, anyplace.
Q. What is CaseView?
A. CaseView's CIC technology gives courtroom and deposition participants instant access to current and past testimony. As the reporter's steno notes are being translated to English on the CAT (Computer Aided Transcription) system, the text is instantly transmitted to one or more CaseView systems. CaseVeiw provides an on-line, unedited transcript to all users, including those connected via modem at off-site locations.
Q. What is the function of a scopist?
A. A scopist receives a rough transcription of a proceeding, usually along with audiotapes and underlying documents, such as exhibits which were discussed during the proceeding. A scopist uses these resources, as well as their inherent understanding and experience, to produce a clean transcript for the reporter.
A scopist may help maintain a reporter's dictionary by making "global" entries in the software. A reporter may make a typo, or write something several different ways, or may take new terminology, and none of this will exist in their dictionary. As a scopist edits a transcript, they either replace bad strokes with the correct record, or they "define" these strokes on the computer by making a "global," or global search and replace. This tells the computer to add this stroke or combination of strokes to the dictionary, as well as maintaining the clarity throughout the transcript. This drastically speeds up the reporter's work and the scopist's work. A good scopist should be fairly fluent with machine shorthand in order to accomplish their task.
Note that while a scopist should produce the cleanest possible transcript, they are not responsible for the final product. For example, if there are names that cannot be looked up, the scopist marks it in the transcript and the reporter must make a final determination.
Q. Why do court reporters use scopists?
A. First of all, working with a scopist allows the reporter to take more work and have a faster turnaround time. More importantly, by building a relationship with a scopist, a reporter can enjoy some other advantages.
By working together, a scopist and reporter can quickly and continually build on a dictionary for CAT/realtime. Also, with a scopist, there are two sets of eyes searching for spelling errors, typos and other mistakes.
Also, by using a scopist, a reporter can avoid repetitive use injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
Q. What steps must be taken when swearing in the witness and the Interpreter?
A. You must first swear in the interpreter, and then swear in the witness through the interpreter.
At the beginning of the transcript, you'll need to indicate the witness's name as usual, but also the fact that the succeeding pages were translated through an interpreter "duly sworn to translate English to _____ and ______ to English," or words to that effect.
Just make sure the record adequately reflects the fact that 1) an interpreter was used, 2) the interpreter was placed under oath, and 3) the witness was placed under oath. Your Appearance Page should also reflect the interpreter's name in an "Also Present" section.
Q. How is the interpreted word transcribed?
A. Your transcript will look "normal," that is, with Q's and A's and colloquy between speakers, etc. The only exception to this is if the interpreter speaks "for himself." When the interpreter is making a statement for himself, "The Interpreter" is used as an indication, rather than Q or
Q. How should the transcript look if the interpreter does not use the first person?
A. A trained interpreter, such as those employed by Legal Language Services, will know to use the first person when interpreting a witness's testimony; that is, s/he is interpreting and repeating back the words exactly as they are conveyed to him/her. When receiving an answer, s/he should answer in the first person as if he were the witness speaking the words. If the interpreter doesn't do this and uses the third person instead, you need to transcribe that as words from the interpreter.
To make matters worse, sometimes the witness will have enough English to understand some of what is said and jump in with the English answer without waiting for the interpreter. You will need to be ready to write what the witness says, whether it's spoken through the interpreter or with his own mouth. The transcript will be the same.