How to Become a Court Reporter in Texas

If you want to learn how to become a court reporter in Texas there are very specific steps that you must follow. First of all, you must have a full grasp on what the profession entails. After you have an understanding of the profession, you must pass a series of examinations. If you successfully pass the tests then you are required to maintain continuing education requirements. Don't get overwhelmed yet. Following is a step by step guide for you to follow and learn how to become a court reporter in Texas:

The Educational Requirements

The first step is that you need to have a full understanding of the court reporter profession. That being said, there are no specific educational requirement. However, beginning on September 2, 2011, a prospective candidate must possess either a high school diploma or a GED. A lot of students choose to attend classes. The length of time required to complete formal education requirements varies depending on what your focus may be (ie: real-time, stenomask reporter, stenographer). In order to qualify to take the required certification examinations, the candidate must pass two proficiency tests that are given by an instructor at a court reporting school. Most schools are willing to give the proficiency tests to non-students thereby not excluding candidates that were self-taught or who got their training in another state.

First You need to Pass the Exam

After passing the required proficiency tests, the candidate may sit for the state exam. Exams are administered on a regular basis by the Court Reporters Certification Board. This board not only administers the test but they are also the governing body responsible for disciplining reporters in Texas. The exam requires candidates to pass a written and an oral examination.

The oral examination is composed of (1) 5 minutes of Q and A (question and answer) dictation given at a speed of 225 wpm (words per minute); (2) 5 minutes of jury charge given at 200 wpm; and (3) 5 minutes of literary given at 180 wpm. After all three sections are given, the candidate must then reduce the dictations to writing using their court reporting equipment. You must pass this section with 95% accuracy. The some of the following errors will be counted against you: each wrong word; each omitted word; each word not dictated; each misplaced word; each misspelled word; each wrong number. You are given three hours to complete the transcription.

The written examination contains objective questions regarding spelling, grammar, procedures and the rules and procedures of Texas court reporting. You must pass the written examination with a 75%.

Examination Dates
Following is a list of the examination dates for 2011 & 2012:

June 8, 2011 Corpus Christi, TX
September 17, 2011 The Woodlands, TX
January 14, 2011 Austin, TX
April 14, 2012 Austin, TX
June 20, 2012 Ft. Worth, TX
September 15, 2012 Austin, TX
Of course these examination dates are always subject to change.

We hope you have found this article helpful in teaching you how to become a court reporter in Texas.

For more information on how to become a court reporter visit our website http://www.howtobecomeacourtreporter.info/ by clicking here. We have lots of court reporter information on our website.

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Stenomask Reporter - The Next Generation in Court Reporting

A court reporter uses various machines like a stenotype, a computer and a stenomask to assist in the ease of day-to-day court proceedings. A court reporting program includes training in English skills, legal and medical terminology transcription and much more. During the course of the program one would be made aware of courtroom and deposition procedures, closed captioning, computer aided transcription, real-time reporting and word processing.

The overall duration of the course would be over 33 months.

A stenomask is one of the various machines the court reporter makes use of in his daily dealings.

A stenomask is a mask covering the mouth of the speaker, and it is equipped with a built-in microphone. The purpose of a stenomask is twofold:-

a) It permits a person to speak without being heard by other people.

b) It muffles the background noise in the court.

The Stenomask was developed by Horace Webb and two of his colleagues in 1940.Horace Webb sought a faster and accurate system of transcription as he had experienced that shorthand notes could become unmanageable with fast talkers or with difficult terminology. Also, till recently, shorthand reporters would verbally dictate transcription notes into typewritten form resulting in approximately two hours dictation for every hour of transcription. The need to repeat with a voice in lieu of a pen resulted in the invention of a stenotype. It would be amusing to note that the final result of all his experiments was by using a rubber Air Force face mask paired with a coffee pot filled with a sound absorbing material. The US Navy declared the product to be the most accurate method of transcription among all known systems of 'verbatim reporting', and, subsequently it was adopted by them for court reporting.

Interestingly, more than half of the states in the US prohibit the use of a stenomask!

The newer versions of the Stenomask are more light weight, and conform to the 'moose-mask' design.

The method of court reporting known as voice writing was formerly known as the Stenomask System. Voice reporters have since long been available to make a record of the court proceedings through the use of a stenomask with a 'voice silencer' and analog tapes. Voice writers not only repeat every word uttered by the attorneys, witnesses, judges and other parties in a proceeding but also verbally identify the speaker.The text is punctuated; activities described as they occur and in certain instances even the exhibits are marked.

In the present day, with the cutting edge of technology that is available in the form of speech recognition CAT systems, a court reporter has the improved facility of the spoken word instantly transformed into text on a computer or a laptop. The resultant effect is that a voice writer is now at ease to produce real-time text feeds within a courtroom, and download them in an ASCII format for distribution immediately on conclusion of the court proceedings.Digital recordings offer a clear and well-defined sound track. Thus, they make transcription easier and more accurate.

A stenomask reporter is the next generation of court reporters. With carpal tunnel problems plaguing many court reporters, the stenomask is a great alternative to save the wear and tear on your hands. Visit our website at http://www.howtobecomeacourtreporter.info/ to find out more information on how to become a stenomask reporter

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Court rules for students in Pennsylvania speech cases (Reuters)

PHILADELPHIA – A federal appeals court here has ruled in favor of two school students who were disciplined in different districts for creating what lawyers called parodies of their principals on the MySpace social network site.

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit made clear ... that schools cannot punish students for out-of-school speech that does not create a substantial and material disruption inside the school," said the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the students.

"I think the message is louder for school officials than it is for the kids," ACLU lawyer Witold Walczak, the organization's Pennsylvania legal director, said Tuesday.

And that message, he said, is that the authority of school officials is less for conduct outside the school than it is for conduct inside.

Terry Snyder, mother of one of the students who was referred to in the legal papers as only "JS," said she disciplined her daughter for her behavior while she was a student in the Blue Mountain School District, in central Pennsylvania north of Reading.

"I punished her for that," said Snyder Tuesday. "I'm the one who should have punished her."

But the school district insisted on a 10-day suspension, and that led to the lawsuit.

The court decision released Monday said Snyder's daughter created a MySpace profile that made fun of her middle school principal in 2007. The court said the profile contained adult language and sexually explicit references.

In an 8-6 decision, the Circuit Court said the district violated the girl's First Amendment rights. The girl graduated this year from the Blue Mountain high school, and is headed for college.

In a separate case, the court ruled 14-0 in favor of a student in the far western part of Pennsylvania, Hermitage, a suburb of Sharon.

"We hold," wrote the court in a case involving then high school student Justin Layshock, who is now in college, "that under these circumstances, the First Amendment prohibits the school from reaching beyond the school yard to impose what might otherwise be appropriate discipline."

The court said Layshock, in 2005, created what he called a parody profile of his high school principal on his grandmother's computer. In it, he posed such questions as "birthday" with the response "too drunk to remember."

The principal thought the remarks were demeaning, and Layshock was suspended for 10 days.

His parents were not able to be reached for comment, but in a 2006 statement attached to an ACLU news release Don and Cherie Layshock said their son was punished by them. They said he apologized to the principal, twice.

"He is sorry and embarrassed by what he calls a dumb mistake," that statement said.

Hermitage school officials could not be reached for comment, and the Blue Ridge Superintendent, Robert Urzillo, said he had not been in his current job at the time.

(Editing by Jerry Norton)

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