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Archive for December, 2019

Wisconsin Courthouses Receive New Recording Systems Due to Shortage of Court Reporters

Posted on: December 30th, 2019 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

columbia-county-courthouseColumbia County, Wisconsin is on the shortlist to receive updated and new audio and video recording equipment for their courtrooms. This to fill in gaps as a statewide shortage of court reporters shows no signs of slowing.

Circuit Court Judge Andrew Voigt said the state is working to place new video and audio recording systems in almost all courtrooms across the state within the next two to three years, to provide uniformity in systems. The recording systems will also be used to address the rising shortage of court reporters, as a large number are set to retire, with very few new reporters entering the field to replace them.

(Yes, this is the same story we keep hearing all over the country.)

 

“There is a very significant percentage of court reporters in the state of Wisconsin eligible to retire in the next five years, dramatically more than are graduating from court reporting schools in Wisconsin,” said Voigt. “There is no conceivable way that the graduates could fill all of what will be open spaces.”

 

The state will provide the equipment and technology. But because the county owns the courthouse, it will be responsible for wiring or rewiring the courtrooms for installation. The state will be responsible for storing the files that are recorded in courtrooms and making them available.

Voigt said these systems will likely not be extensively used in the near future as there is still enough court reporters working in the county.

“This is a response to (an expected shortage of court reporters) because we as a court system don’t ever want to be in a position where we can’t hold court because we are missing personnel,” he said.

 

Will Technology Replace Court Reporters

While this is all meant to fill gaps in the absence of a court reporter, it will not eliminate the need for someone to operate the computer system used to record, and create transcripts from the recordings nor will it eliminate all court reporter positions throughout the state.

The county was not aware of the costs of this system. The money needed to wire the courtrooms is not accounted for in the 2020 budget, but is needed by the time the state is ready to install the equipment which Voigt says will likely be late February or early March.

“There’s so many unknowns with this, but we don’t have a choice, by statute they can order us to do this,” said County Board Chairman Vern Gove. “We don’t know what this is going to be, but it could be a big amount.”

CourtScribes.com supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and we too are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

Although the majority of cities that offer CourtScribes’ services are in Florida, the company home base, other cities all across these United States that CourtScribes offers services in, are the following: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Clearwater, Palm Bay, Fort Myers, Weston, Sarasota, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Stuart, Hollywood, Naples, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Coral Gables, Maryland, Manhattan, Buffalo, Washington DC, Baltimore, Bowie, Virginia, Frederick, Albany, New York, Brooklyn,  Westchester, Gaithersberg, and Rockville.

Alfred State College Helping Court Reporting Students Via Project Steno

Posted on: December 23rd, 2019 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

project-steno-logoAlfred State College, of New York, is partnering with Project Steno to help put students on a path to a rewarding career in the high-demand field of court reporting.

Project Steno promotes the stenographic court reporting/captioning profession through social media and community outreach, with the goal of building a robust pipeline of students into school and graduating them in two years.

 

How Does Project Steno Help

The first step of Project Steno involves providing prospective students with a free introductory court reporting course, with partnering instructors donating their time and court reporters donating steno machines. After a six-week course, students are able to select a partnering school to attend so that they can obtain their court reporting degrees.

Students that complete the introductory course who then attend a partnering school will receive tuition assistance. As the final step in the process, Project Steno monitors student progress and helps mentor those who need extra help in order to ensure that those who meet the program milestones graduate in two years.

Alfred State offers a two-year degree in court and realtime reporting and a certificate in court reporting and captioning. To find out more about these programs, visit www.alfredstate.edu/court-reporting.

For more information on Project Steno, visit ProjectSteno.org.

CourtScribes.com supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and we too are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

Although the majority of cities that offer CourtScribes’ services are in Florida, the company home base, other cities all across these United States that CourtScribes offers services in, are the following: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Clearwater, Palm Bay, Fort Myers, Weston, Sarasota, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Stuart, Hollywood, Naples, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Coral Gables, Maryland, Manhattan, Buffalo, Washington DC, Baltimore, Bowie, Virginia, Frederick, Albany, New York, Brooklyn,  Westchester, Gaithersberg, and Rockville.

Federal Reporter Christin E. Russell Earns Highest Court Reporter Credential

Posted on: December 9th, 2019 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

christin-e-russellA court reporter for U.S. District Judge Robert Cleland in Port Huron, Michigan has gained the highest credential possible for court reporters. Christin E. Russell of Ortonville, Michigan has earned the nationally recognized Registered Diplomate Reporter certification for stenographic court reporters, according to the National Court Reporters Association.

There are approximately 350 reporters with the RDR credential nationwide. They are recognized for being highly experienced and seasoned, and members of the profession’s elite.

 

“Becoming an RDR has been a personal goal for many years,” Russell said in the release. “I hope to continue evolving and pushing myself to excel in my current position, but also serve as an example for current and future court reporters.

“Being a member of NCRA is both an honor and privilege. It is a wonderful family of professionals who offer support and continue to promote growth in our challenging, yet very rewarding field of court reporting.”

 

Russell has provided court reporting in many cases involving the Macomb County corruption scandals, including two trials, at the Port Huron federal courthouse for the Eastern District of Michigan. The federal investigation, which has resulted in more than 20 people charged, continues at the time of this article.

Russell has worked as a court reporter for 25 years. She also holds the professional certifications of Registered Professional Reporter, Registered Merit Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter and Federal Certified Realtime Reporter.

CourtScribes.com supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and we too are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

Although the majority of cities that offer CourtScribes’ services are in Florida, the company home base, other cities all across these United States that CourtScribes offers services in, are the following: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Clearwater, Palm Bay, Fort Myers, Weston, Sarasota, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Stuart, Hollywood, Naples, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Coral Gables, Maryland, Manhattan, Buffalo, Washington DC, Baltimore, Bowie, Virginia, Frederick, Albany, New York, Brooklyn,  Westchester, Gaithersberg, and Rockville.

 

Illinois Congressman Sponsors Court Reporting Bill

Posted on: December 2nd, 2019 by Dependable Website Management No Comments

congressman-rodney-davisGood news coming from the government when it comes to the shortages in the court reporting world. 13th District Congressman Rodney Davis from Illinois has introduced a bipartisan bill that will reauthorize a grant program that will encourage careers in closed captioning and court reporting. The bill will “reauthorize” the Training for Realtime Writers Act, which was passed and signed into law as part of the Higher Education Act of 2008.

The grant program allows colleges and universities to apply for funding specifically to help encourage more students to pursue a career in court reporting, real-time writing, & closed captioning.

Davis asserted that the reauthorization will continue to help the 48 million people in the United States who are deaf and hard of hearing to receive information. He says the funding will go towards modernizing curriculum at colleges and help develop new captioning-specific software at universities.

The bill has received support from the Illinois Court Reporters Association. It was co-sponsored with Wisconsin Democrat Congressman Ron Kind. HR 5285 was referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor yesterday.

This is great news as we have discussed many times on this site how the amount of students showing interest in court rpeorting is seriously waning and causing problems for courts and more.

CourtScribes.com supports all states and programs that aid in the court reporting world, and we too are ready to serve you in your court reporting, videography services, interpreters, live-streaming, and video-to-text synchronization.

Although the majority of cities that offer CourtScribes’ services are in Florida, the company home base, other cities all across these United States that CourtScribes offers services in, are the following: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Port St. Lucie, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Clearwater, Palm Bay, Fort Myers, Weston, Sarasota, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Hialeah, Stuart, Hollywood, Naples, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Jupiter, Key West, Coral Gables, Maryland, Manhattan, Buffalo, Washington DC, Baltimore, Bowie, Virginia, Frederick, Albany, New York, Brooklyn,  Westchester, Gaithersberg, and Rockville.