A court reporter’s job

The court reporting profession is a large segment of jobs in the judicial field. Online court reporting training can help prospective court reporters and people from other professions as well, become certified to work in the judicial system, in courts or as freelance transcribers and also become proficient in working outside the judicial system.

Education and professional overview

The Court reporting profession is growing at a rate at least as fast as many mainstream professions and much faster than most in the judicial system. The court reporting profession has its place not only in the judicial field but in the fields of media and broadcast (captioning).

Court reporting training is not easy. This lucrative field requires the best professionals who possess excellent communication and writing abilities, great work ethics and the ability to concentrate and focus on various types of proceedings for long periods of time. Court reporting online schools train you to gain the certification required (through the NVRA and NCRA in the USA and like associations in other countries). The courses on offer over the internet involve transcription training including the use of steno and CAT as well as vocabulary, terminology (medical, business etc) and legal procedure lectures.

Online court reporting training offers anyone the ability to become a part of the court reporting fraternity without making commitments to their training which would disrupt of change their everyday lives. Prospective reporters can study and train around their everyday schedules and easily complete the training from the comfort of their own homes without having to spend hundreds and thousands on commuting to and from classrooms and the time taken out of working hours.

Certification

The following certifications are offered by the national associations. In addition to these, most states also require a court reporter to become a registered notary public as well as subscribe to continued and refresher training.

NCRA Certifications (increasing levels of expertise):

RPR certification (Registered Professional Reporter- Basic Certification), RMR certification (Registered Merit Reporter) and the RDR certification (Registered Diplomate Reporter).

NVRA Certification:

CVR (Certified Verbatim Reporter)

The judicial system offers court reporters with different levels of certification (as mentioned above) various opportunities in court reporting. The following are some of the job descriptions that court reporting professionals encounter in their field of work as part of the judicial system.

Official Court Reporter: The accurate recording of court proceedings, maintain a record of significant events and appearances in a trial proceeding, accurate transcription of witness statements during hearings (using CAT and electronic transcription, shorthand etc as per state requirements). The job also requires travel to counties in and around the district (court) in order to appear in hearings and take official statements, clerical and administrative work in the courtroom itself (these include administering oaths, documentation, log maintenance and transfer and maintenance of official transcripts for reference with district court administration).

Transcriptionist: The transcription, on paper and electronic format, of court proceedings previously saved as audio tape recordings. The work involves recording (setting up equipment and operating it during proceedings), transcription and verifying and checking records for accuracy. The work also involves official record keeping of all such tapes and their transcripts in text in accordance with state requirements. Duties relating to the supervision of typists and clerical court work are also involved.

Official Court Shorthand Reporter: The real-time transcriptions of all court proceedings including hearings and the maintenance of records and logs as mentioned above.

References:

Wikipedia[dot]com
National Center for State Courts: www[dot]ncsconline[dot]org/D_KIS/jobdeda/Jobs_CourtReporter(11).htm
Online Resources: www[dot]worldwidelearn[dot]com/online-education-guide/criminal-justice/court-reporting-major.htm

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