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Court Reporting

Resource Guide

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e-Courts West Conference.

The role of the court reporter is an imperative one – it is their responsibility to ensure that the court proceedings are done accurately and completely.  While the use of technology is allowing this role to evolve, all court reporting methods ultimately have one key requirement: properly trained professionals and reliable recording equipment.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.

General

Administrative Order 2.039: Court Reporting Services Plan. (June 1995). 6th Judicial Circuit of Florida Document presents the rationale and plan for creating court-reporting services in the 16th Judicial Circuit of Florida in Monroe County.
Certified Legal Video Specialists (CLVS) Directory. (January 2009). National Court Reporters Association Listings reflect all those individuals that have met NCRA's minimum standards in the area of legal video. It is broken up geographically by state, territory and country.  Listings are updated regularly. 
Court Reporter Handbook. Indiana Courts This document provides court reporters with a variety of tools for success in the industry, including information on ethical considerations, legal regulations, pretrial and trial procedures, transcript preparation, maintenance of court records, and employment issues.
Carver, John and Barry Mahoney. How to Conduct an Assessment of Your Court`s Record-Making Operations. (June 2002). The Justice Management Institute for the National Court Reporters Association p>This tool was developed by the Justice Management Institute with funding and guidance from the National Court Reporters Foundation.  Volume 1, The Self-Assessment Guide, provides an overview of record-making technology and its implications for the future, advice on preparing and conducting the self-assessment, and how to develop an action plan. Volume 2, The Resource Manual, provides materials for the self-assessment process. Also available is the Executive Summary, which helps to explain the benefits of moving forward with a systemic review of a court's record-making approach.
Management Plan for Court Reporting and Recording Services. (July 2000). United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii The state of Hawaii's bankruptcy courts presented this new plan to improve the relationship between court reporters and the legal venues which they serve through supervisions of court reporters by the bankruptcy court clerk.
Steelman, David, William Slate, and William Hewitt. Proposed Criteria and Methodology for Evaluation of Court Reporting Alternatives in the Province of Ontario. (November 1993). NCSC and Justice Research Institute. Due to budget constraints, Ontario courts were looking at alternatives to court reporters. This report offers suggested methodology to assess the operation of sound recordings (the alternative used in several pilot sites).
Rottman, David et al. Table 37-Making the Trial Record. (2006). State Court Organization 2004. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics This chart presents a 50-state overview of the different types of court-reporting methods used.
The Status of Reporter Education: Trends and Analysis. (June 2002). National Court Reporters Association Report presents an overview of the current state of court reporter education in the nation's courts.  Attention is paid to the decline in the number of reporting students, the legal community's perception of court reporting, and NCRA's student recruitment and education initiatives in an effort to establish a benchmark for further programs and to eliminate the shortage of professional reporters.

CART

CART Providers Manual. (May 2001). National Court Reporters Association The NCRA's manual for CART providers includes information on successfully maneuvering in the courtroom with the CART program through the necessary qualities and elements of professionalism, skills, location setup, legal setting, broadcast captioning, remote cart, equipment, and compensation information.
Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) in the Courtroom: Model Guidelines. (September 2002). American Judges Foundation and the National Court Reporters Foundation Document provides information on properly implementing the CART system, including protocols concerning attorneys, jurors, witnesses, and civil parties.
NCRF/AJF Introduce Model Guidelines for CART in the Courtroom. National Court Reporters Association The Model Guidelines for CART in the Courtroom provides the definition of the CART program, explanations on how citizens can request CART services, and descriptions of the appropriate procedure for approving CART service throughout the judicial system.

Digital Recording

Crawford, Chris. A Study of Court Reporting and Digital Recording (DR) in the California and Florida Courts. (2009).

This report studies the "question of cost savings in California courts by examining similar efforts in the Florida courts, and a side-by-side comparison of court reporting and DR in the Los Angeles Superior Court."
Lewis, Jannet. Digital Court Recording. (January 2005). Court Information Technology Officers Consortium, Technology Experience Bulletin An informative white paper on the implementation of digital recording in the courtroom. 
Squires, Chase. Courts Shift Reporting to Digital System. (April 2004). St. Petersburg Times Article explains the recent transition in the Pasco-Pinellas Circuit Court, located in Clearwater, Florida, to a digital reporting system in its local justice center, replacing the traditional system using court reporters.
Court Stenographers Sue to Block Loss of Jobs. (April 2004). Boston Globe Article describes the court case brought on by New Hampshire court reporters against the state's supreme court and court administrators because of recent efforts to phase out stenography positions in favor of digital audio recording systems.
Chief Justice Harrison Impressed with Digital Court Recording System. (November 2000). Supreme Court of Illinois Press Release Article explains the newly implemented digital court-recording system in the DuPage County court facilities.
Stienstra, Donna. Digital Audio Recording Technology: A Report on a Pilot Project in Twelve Federal Courts. (May 1999). Prepared for the Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference Federal Judicial Center's study on the pilot project for the use of digital recording systems in federal district and bankruptcy courts.  (NCSC Library Call Number KF8725 .D55 1999)
Digital Court Reporting. Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, Florida A description of the major facets involved in a novel digital court reporting project in Florida.  This includes descriptions of the software, technology, and processes involved in the project.
Electronic/Digital and Video Recording. National Court Reporters Association The NCRA's position on dealing with electronic/digital and video recording in court systems across the country.
Steelman, David and Samuel Conti. An Evaluation of Kentucky`s Innovative Approach to Making a Videotape Record of Trial Court Proceedings. (April 1985). Northeastern Regional Office. This report addresses the efficacy of using videotape recording devices in Kentucky's courts.

Electronic Reporting

Hewitt, William and Jill Berman Levy. Computer-aided Transcription: Current Technology and Court Applications. (1994). 184 pages. Court reporters play a vital role in American Jurisprudence. Technology in court reporting, namely CAT-computer-aided transcription-is thoroughly analyzed in this study. CAT's use, forms and evolution are also discussed.
Court Reporting and Electronic Court Recording Services of the United States Courts, Southern District of Texas. (May 1999). The Southern District of Texas presented information on working in the legal profession following the transition to electronic court-recording services, especially with respect to ordering transcripts.
Miller, Brian. Court Reporting: From Stenography to Technology . (1996). Government Technology This article traces the evolution of technology in court reporting and the gradual erosion of stenographers' and court reporters' jobs.
Maher, James. Do Video Transcripts Affect the Scope of Appellate Review?. (May 1990). 107 pages. Northeastern Regional Office. An evaluation in the Kentucky Court of Appeals.  Landmark study of appellate court judges and appellate case outcomes to determine if the ability to observe the demeaner of a defendant influenced the outcome of appellate cases.
Rule 980.5. Electronic Recording as Official Record of Proceedings. (2002). California Rules of Court The California Rules of Court includes definitions of pertinent terms in the area of electronic recording; events at which photographing, recording, and broadcasting are prohibited; information on personal recording devices; media coverage stipulations; and potential sanctions for violation of this rule.
The Evolution of Electronic Court Reporting Methods. Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, Florida Centralized and decentralized court reporting is discussed.
What Is Electronic Court Reporting?. American Association of Electronic Recorders and Transcribers The AAERT's Web site on electronic court reporting includes information on the comparison of electronic and stenographic machine reporting, potential benefits for court administrations, and preparation of transcripts from audio recordings.

Job Descriptions and Compensation

Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-2009: Court Reporters. (December 2007).

Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), revised every two years by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides valuable information about the court reporter career field.  Included in the OOH are salary statistics and projected employment statistics.

Organizations

American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers. The American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation organized to provide education and certification for professionals engaged in electronic reporting, transcribing, and supportive employment roles, and to promote public awareness and acceptance of the electronic reporting industry
National Court Reporters Association. Organization that promotes and aids those who convert the spoken word of courts to text.
The United States Court Reporters Association. The United States Court Reporters Association is the national representative for the federal court reporting profession.  The Association is committed to promoting and maintaining the highest standards of verbatim reporting, quality services, professional ethics, fidelity to the ideals of the judicial system, and advocating continuing education as well as the utilization of state-of-the-art technologies.

Standards Certification

Certification and Testing of Electronic Court Reporters.

American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers

 This Web site presents the AAERT's certification programs for electronic court reporters and transcribers, which include written and direct examination in an analog or digital focus area.
Education and Certification. National Court Reporters Association Information is provided on new certification for court reporters, including Certified Broadcast Captioner (CBC) and Certified CART Provider (CCP), in conjunction with other programs the NCRA offers.
The United States Court Reporters Association. This association certifies federal real-time reporters.

Task Force and Committee Reports

Digital Recording: Changing Times for Making the Record. (December 2009). Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) This COSCA white paper describes the challenges of current methods, the opportunities of digital recording methods, and the national implementation strategies and transitions tools to achieve digital recording.
Digital Audio/Visual Recording Technology (DART) Committee: Final Report and Findings. (December 2009). Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Judicial Council appointed the Digital Audio-Video Recording Technology (DART) Committee in May 2009, and this final Committee report provides its findings and conclusions regarding (1) the reliability of the technology, (2) the accuracy of the recordings and transcripts, and (3) the costs.  See also the Appendices to this Report here.
Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Keeping the Record, Final Report. (December 2005). This Final Report presents findings and makes recommendations after its evaluation of court reporting practices in Arizona, electronic alternatives, and emerging issues relating to keeping the record.
Chief Judges Making the Record Committee Final Report. (May 2004). Wisconsin Circuit Courts A study designed to bring chief judges and court reporters into greater confidence with each other.
Reporting of the Court Record Task Force. (2004). California Judicial Council Specifically, the task force's work will promote the council's goals of broadening access to the courts; ensuring that justice is administered in a timely and efficient manner; reducing the expense of litigation through simplification and standardization of court practices; and utilizing technology to enable the courts to collect, process, analyze and share information.
Task Force on the Certification of Court Reporters. (March 2006). Supreme Court of Ohio In March 2006 Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer formed the Supreme Court Task Force on the Certification of Court Reporters. The task force is charged with developing a process by which persons serving as court reporters in Ohio's courts will meet standards to be developed by the task force. The task force members include judges, court reporters, attorneys and court administrators.
Reporting of the Record Task Force Report Final Report. (February 2005). Judicial Council of California A state-created task force designed to illuminate the current rigors of court reporting, as well as report on the future of the position, as well as technological improvements.
Committee on Court Reporting Final Report Recommendations. (May 1991). New Jersey Judiciary The committee recommended that each county should be provided with a videotaped courtroom to create the record and that all superior-court courtrooms should be equipped with sound-recording equipment as an alternative to court reporters.