The need for court reporters is growing. A recent National Court Reporters Association survey that looked at the trends affecting job opportunities in the profession found there will be 5,500 jobs available in the field across the country in the next five years.
But if you live in Manhattan, becoming a court reporter is not an easy process despite the growing need. The New York Career Institute, the last school in Manhattan that taught court reporting, recently closed, the New York Daily News reported. The school closed with some students just halfway through finishing the two-year program that would lead to degrees.
Fortunately, NYCI president Dennis Byrns was able to work with the students and find them a new place to go to finish their schooling. The students displaced by the closing of NYCI are now attending Plaza College, a technical school in Forest Hills, Queens.
Training programs typically teach students the skills they need to earn their National Court Reporters Association or National Verbatim Reporters Association certification. The associate degree option typically takes two years to complete
Although the court reporter shortage is expected to continue, the high-tech solutions offered by CourtScribes could help solve or at least alleviate personnel shortages.
Professional court reporters have the training and experience to provide an accurate record of court proceedings, a recording adds another layer of security and reliability. CourtScribes uses the most sophisticated digital technology to provide the highest-quality transcripts of court proceedings.
The internet-age technology captures what is being said in court, then remote transcriptionists create the official record of court proceedings at a cost to attorneys that is up to 50 percent less than what they are used to paying for live court reporting.
Another benefit is that both log notes and audio files are transmitted over the internet, reducing or eliminating shipping costs and delivery delays. Storage and archiving are efficient because audio and log notes are saved as computer files.
Electronic recording equipment is overseen by an experienced reporter at all times. The reporter simultaneously takes notes that are time-linked to the corresponding recording, so people involved with the case can instantly find the point in the record where they want to re-listen.
Attorneys benefit not only from a less-expensive transcript but also from having a video and/or audio recording that provides them with a more accurate and verifiable record.
CourtScribes may also provide a live feed to an attorney’s office team, allowing them to monitor the proceedings and more effectively assist the attorneys in the courtroom in real time.
Video recording ensures a comprehensive record that allows attorneys to evaluate people’s behaviors, mannerisms, and speech patterns as well as review what was said. Court Scribes uses computer-based digital systems with enhanced features that perform recording functions with convenience, flexibility, and economy.
In fact, when the CourtScribes technology went head-to-head against a court reporter trained as a stenographer and both transcripts were compared and verified against the actual recording of the proceeding, CourtScribes had significantly fewer errors on each page.
The human ear can only hear so much in a chaotic environment when many speakers in a courtroom talk over each other at the same time. When microphones are placed in front of each speaker, every word spoken can be isolated and heard with complete clarity.
Because the CourtScribes system assigns primary participants to separate, discrete sound channels, it’s easy to identify who’s who. A typical four-channel system individually records the judge, witness, plaintiff’s attorney and defendant’s attorney. When two or more parties talk at the same time, digital reporting captures each voice clearly on its own separate sound channel.
And the recording process captures all words exactly as they are spoken without worrying about a person being unable to understand accents or complex medical or technical terms. During the transcription process, the audio can be replayed as needed to verify any questions.
Also, during the trial, any portion of a recorded proceeding can be played back over audio speakers whenever the judge or counsel requires it. Audio also can be replayed for jurors if they wish to review actual spoken testimony during deliberations.
Counsel can also obtain copies of the actual recording with digital annotations “hot-linked” to the audio so points of interest can be located quickly and efficiently. While the word per-minute-capacity of a stenographer is often impressive, sometimes it is not enough.
Part of the reason for the strong demand for court reporters is that many court reporters are retiring, so jobs are opening up but there aren’t enough people to fill them. A lack of awareness about the profession means people don’t often think of it as a career choice, something that court reporting programs are working locally and nationally change.
But people who do learn about the opportunity to be a court reporter are attracted to the flexibility. New reporters might start out doing freelance work like deposition hearings, arbitrations or CART captioning for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
And captioners and court reporters often can work from home with significant earning potential, with some making salaries ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 a year.
