- The first court reporter in ancient history was a former slave named Tiro in the household of Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman philosopher and orator. It was Tiro who came up with a system of abbreviations that could be substituted for commonly used words and phrases and, thus, make it easy to record an entire speech while the speaker was actually making it. This forerunner to modern stenography underwent a succession of "shortcut" changes over time, and by the late 16th century no longer consisted of recognizable letters but, rather, several hundred squiggly symbols that could only be deciphered by those who had mastered the code. The Houses of Parliament recognized the value of this mysterious asset to the judicial system in the 1770s and appointed Thomas Gurney as the government's first stenographer. The following century, the speedwriting model used in courts of law underwent further renovation by Sir Issac Pitman and John Robert Gregg, whose respective techniques quickly became popular in the U.K. and the U.S. and extended shorthand to the broader world of commerce and industry. The invention of the first stenotype machine in 1879 allowed court reporters to increase the speed and efficiency of their work. Continued refinements brought by technology opened the door to today's voice recognition software programs that convert sounds to a print medium but still require a human editor to finalize the documents transcribed.
- The role of a court reporter is to attend each day of hearing for an assigned case and--throughout its duration--accurately record everything that is said by the respective attorneys, their clients, the witnesses and experts called to testify and the presiding judge. The words that the court reporter hears are physically reproduced, stored on a machine, retrieved after the hearing has been adjourned and transcribed and distributed for the official court record. During the hearing, the court reporter may be asked to read back something aloud that has already been said in order to clarify a point or address an inconsistency in witness statements. In transcribing courtroom testimony, the court reporter must maintain complete neutrality insofar as the content, regardless of her personal views. In addition to attendance in courtrooms, court reporters are also utilized extensively in less formal proceedings associated with administrative hearings and depositions. These are held in conference rooms and lawyers' offices but, in spite of their less structured format, the same high degree of efficiency and confidentiality is expected.
- A trial can last anywhere from half a day to several weeks, and the assigned court reporter will be expected to be there the entire time. The exception is if the case is an especially high profile one that goes more than two months; in this instance, a backup court reporter would also be assigned. The court reporter is expected to turn around the transcription in less than 24 hours so that it will be available prior to the next day's proceedings. While there is a little more flexibility with administrative hearings involving disciplinary personnel actions, a court reporter is required by the terms of her contract to deliver the transcribed materials within a specified time frame (usually five days or less). It generally takes one to three years of training to learn the rudiments of court reporting at a business college or vocational program. Continuing education classes to maintain one's certification status and hone transcription skills are provided on an ongoing basis. In addition, participants often take semester courses in the paralegal and criminal justice fields.
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If you're interested in pursuing a full-time or freelance career as a court reporter, it would be to your advantage to review some of the texts written by professionals in this field. The following books are a good start toward understanding the crucial role a court reporter plays in the judicial process and in honing one's skills:
"Brief Encounters: A Dictionary for Court Reporting" by Laurie Boucke;
"Legal Terminology for Transcription and Court Reporting" by Cathy Okrent;
"The Complete Court Reporter's Handbook" by Mary H. Knapp and Robert W. McCormick;
"Speedbuilding for Court Reporting" by Sally Floyd and Dot Mathias; and
"Court Reporting in a Fast-Paced World: A Procedures Manual and Form Book for Freelance" by Karen L. Schoeve. - Today's court reporters work as independent contractors through an agency or as freelancers who work out of their homes. While the average salary is around $40,000, a freelancer needs to factor in the high cost of health insurance, contribute to her own retirement plan, maintain her own transcription equipment and be able to provide her own backup in the event she is unable to attend a hearing. Employees of a court reporting agency are expected to work a traditional 40-hour week; freelancers can set their own hours of availability and tend to do more on-call assignments (including evenings and weekends) that involve depositions for one or more law offices.
- The more experience and professional credentials a court reporter has, the higher salary and the more prestigious assignments she can pursue. Each state varies in its requirements for licensing and certification. The latter credentials include such titles as Certified Court Reporter, Registered Professional Reporter, Certified Realtime Reporter, Certified Verbatim Reporter, Certified Electronic Court Reporter and Registered Merit Reporter. Tests are administered for each of these levels and, in some cases, a court reporter needs to hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in a related subject and/or have been employed for a minimum number of years in order to be eligible to apply. In addition, prospective candidates must be able to pass examinations in spelling and grammar, have knowledge of court reporting software programs and be familiar with legal terminology and the protocol of court proceedings.
