The Life of a Court Reporter

The Job Description

First and foremost, a court reporter must be an excellent and accurate listener, because a large part of her job will be listening to what others are saying.

In addition, she must be well educated in the language in which she is listening to so that she understands and can accurately transcribe clearly what is being said.

She must be proficient in grammar, punctuation and prominent names of people and places where she lives, because she is going to be preparing in type-written form everything that she heard on the particular assignment.

She must learn to be observant as well, because she will also record things he sees like gestures or emotional reactions.

Her services will be required at court proceedings, depositions, business meetings, religious services and other events where a word for word record of the proceedings is absolutely crucial.

For example, an attorney fighting a case cannot prove a witness’ testimony without the services of a court reporter.

Sometimes the court reporter will be asked by the attorney or the judge to read back what a witness said in an earlier testimony.

The court reporter must know how to find exactly where that statement was made and how to retrieve ther important information from her files.

A court reporter is often times also required to be a member of the notary public.

Court Reporter Certification Organizations

For the NCRA certifications for court reporters, there are 28 states in the US that have approximately a total of 70 schools and colleges that offer training courses in stenotype computer-aided transcription and real-time reporting.

These schools meet the minimum requirements in order to be certified by the National Court Reporters Association.

The links at the bottom of this article will show you which schools in their respective states meet certification guidelines.

The main focus of the USCRA is mostly on matters that affect court reporters who work in the United States District Court.

They offer membership, support, job postings and annual meetings.

The AAERT certifies electronic court reporters. It is not mandatory to be certified with them, however, some employers will ask for certification as soon as a court reporter is eligible.

To receive a certification with AAERT, a court reporter must pass a written exam, have completed high school, have 2 years transcribing experience and must be a member of the notary public.

National Court Reporters Association

United States Court Reporters Association

The American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers