Court reporters, also known as guardians of the record because of their impartiality and role within the judicial process, capture and convert the words spoken by everyone during judicial proceedings into English text that can be read, searched and archived.
An official court reporter is employed by a court and is sometimes assigned to a particular judge or courtroom. The official reporter uses Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT), which is the technology that electronically links a stenotype machine to a computer, to capture and convert everything said during courtroom proceedings into text. Official court reporters then prepare verbatim transcripts of proceedings, which serve as the official record, to help safeguard the legal process.
Some official reporters also employ realtime technology, which consists of connecting a stenotype machine, notebook computer, realtime software, and computer monitors or other displays, to provide instantaneous voice-to-text translation within the courtroom. A court reporter providing realtime, which is the only proven method for immediate voice-to-text translation, allows attorneys and judges to have instant access to the transcript, while also providing a way for deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans to participate in the judicial process.
Official court reporters are often at the center of high-profile cases - preserving history in the Gore vs. Bush election hearings, Bosnian War Crimes Trials, the Microsoft antitrust trial, and the trials of Timothy McVeigh, O.J. Simpson, and Scott Peterson - providing transcripts not only to the judge and counsel but also to the international media in hard-copy format or by posting to the Internet.
What Does it Take to Become an Official Reporter?
Court reporters are highly trained, educated professionals. The knowledge and skills to become an official court reporter are taught at more than 150 reporter training programs, including proprietary schools, community colleges, and four-year universities. Many of these programs offer distance learning options.
The most essential skill taught to reporting students is machine shorthand. Once a student has mastered the basics of machine shorthand, he or she will concentrate on building speed and accuracy. To graduate, students typically need to perform machine shorthand at a speed of at least 225 words per minute. Many jurisdictions require reporters to pass certification examinations that test written knowledge as well as speed and accuracy. Official reporters can also obtain several national certifications through NCRA that reflect differing levels of accuracy and proficiency.
Facts
- Court reporters earn an average of nearly $64,000 a year. Income varies according to the area in which a person lives, certifications earned, the kinds of reporting jobs and experience of individual reporters.
- About 27 percent of the judicial reporters in the U.S. work in the courtroom.
- The U.S. Department of Labor projects that reporting job opportunities will grow as fast as the average for all occupations through 2012.
- There are about 50,000 to 60,000 judicial, broadcast captioning, CART, and Internet information reporters in the United States.
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