Court reporting glossary.

The professional association for digital reporters and transcribers. It offers education and three certifications: CER, CDR and CET.

Source: AAERT certification program (aaert.org)

A firm that schedules reporters and videographers, books rooms and remote sessions, and produces, bills and delivers the transcripts for the law firms it serves.

A charge for the reporter’s time at the proceeding, billed separately from the transcript pages. It is one line of the invoice, beside the page rate.

The instant translation of the spoken word into text, written on a stenotype machine with realtime software, so a person who is deaf or hard of hearing can read along as it is said.

Source: What is captioning (NCRA) (ncra.org)

The software that translates a stenographic reporter’s strokes into English through the reporter’s own dictionary, then holds the editing, formatting and production of the transcript. Eclipse and Case CATalyst are two widely used examples.

AAERT’s certifications for the digital record: Certified Electronic Reporter (recording court and non-court proceedings), Certified Deposition Reporter (recording depositions) and Certified Electronic Transcriber (transcribing recorded proceedings).

Source: AAERT certification program (aaert.org)

The reporter’s signed statement that the witness was duly sworn and that the transcript accurately records the testimony. In federal depositions, Rule 30(f)(1) requires the officer to certify in writing; it is the reporter’s act, never the software’s.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

NCRA’s credential for legal videographers. NCRA describes it as setting and enforcing standards for competency in the capture, use and retention of legal video.

Source: What is certified legal videography (NCRA) (ncra.org)

A transcript bought after the original has been ordered, at a lower per-page rate. In the federal rate schedule the first party to order pays the original rate and later parties pay a copy rate.

Source: Federal Court Reporting Program, transcript rates (U.S. Courts) (uscourts.gov)

NCRA’s realtime certification. A candidate must be an NCRA member holding the RPR or higher, and pass a five-minute realtime testimony test at 200 words per minute with 96 percent accuracy.

Source: Certified Realtime Reporter (NCRA) (ncra.org)

The title some states give their court reporter license; California’s Court Reporters Board, for example, licenses reporters through its CSR examination. Other states use other titles, such as CCR, and some require no license at all, so check the state where the proceeding is held.

Sources: State certification requirements (NCRA) (ncra.org); Voice writers, initial statement of reasons (Court Reporters Board of California) (courtreportersboard.ca.gov)

A transcript delivered the day after the proceeding. The federal rate schedule calls it a next-day transcript and prices it above three-day and seven-day delivery.

Source: Federal Court Reporting Program, transcript rates (U.S. Courts) (uscourts.gov)

The witness whose deposition is being taken.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

A witness’s sworn testimony, taken out of court by question and answer before an officer such as a court reporter, and recorded for use in the case.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

The page-and-line ranges of a deposition a party plans to present at trial in place of live testimony. The other side answers with counter-designations: other parts that in fairness should be heard with them.

Sources: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 26 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu); Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 32 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

Making the record by digitally recording the proceeding, with a reporter who runs and monitors the recording; the transcript is produced from the audio afterward.

Source: AAERT certification program (aaert.org)

The page on which a witness lists changes to the transcript after reading it, with the reason for each. Under federal Rule 30(e), a witness who asks to review before the deposition ends has 30 days to review and sign such a statement.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

A document or object marked with a number during a proceeding so the testimony can refer to it exactly.

The running list of exhibits: each number, a short description and the transcript page where it was marked or offered. A transcript usually carries it in the index at the front.

Source: Transcript Format Requirements (U.S. Court of Federal Claims) (cfc.uscourts.gov)

Labelling each exhibit with its number, traditionally with a sticker or a stamp, so it can be identified in the record. Under federal Rule 30(f)(2), documents produced at a deposition must, on a party’s request, be marked for identification and attached to it.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

Delivery faster than the standard turnaround, billed at a higher per-page rate. The federal schedule’s expedited tier is seven days; three-day, next-day and two-hour delivery cost more again.

Source: Federal Court Reporting Program, transcript rates (U.S. Courts) (uscourts.gov)

The professional who records a deposition on video and keeps the video record, which is often synced to the reporter’s transcript.

Source: What is certified legal videography (NCRA) (ncra.org)

The national association of stenographic court reporters, captioners and legal videographers. It awards certifications such as the RPR, RMR, CRR and CLVS.

Source: NCRA certifications (ncra.org)

The written notice a party serves to take a deposition. In federal practice it states the time and place, the deponent’s name and address if known, and the method for recording the testimony.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

A national association of verbatim reporters, voice writers among them. It offers entry-level and advanced certifications for court reporters, CART providers and captioners, scopists and transcriptionists.

Source: National Verbatim Reporters Association (nvra.org)

The oath or affirmation the officer gives the witness before testimony begins. In federal depositions it is part of the officer’s opening statement on the record.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

A reporter employed by or contracted to a court to make the record of its proceedings. A freelance reporter covers depositions and other matters for agencies and law firms.

While on the record, every word is taken down. Going off the record pauses the transcript, usually by agreement of everyone present, and the reporter notes the times on the record.

The first, certified transcript, billed to the party who orders it first at the original per-page rate; every later order is a copy.

Source: Federal Court Reporting Program, transcript rates (U.S. Courts) (uscourts.gov)

How testimony is cited: the page, then the line, as in 142:18. Every transcript page carries numbered lines, so a cite points to one line of the record.

Source: Transcript Format Requirements (U.S. Court of Federal Claims) (cfc.uscourts.gov)

The price of a transcript per formatted page, which changes with original or copy and with the turnaround ordered. It is usually one line of a larger invoice.

Source: Federal Court Reporting Program, transcript rates (U.S. Courts) (uscourts.gov)

A reader who checks a finished transcript for typing, spelling and format errors. Unlike a scopist, a proofreader works from the text and does not compare it with the reporter’s steno notes.

Source: Scopists (NCRA) (ncra.org)

The witness’s chance to read the transcript and sign it, listing any changes on an errata sheet; waiving signature gives it up. In federal practice the deponent or a party must ask for it before the deposition is completed.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

The reporter’s steno translated into text on screen as the words are spoken, so counsel can read along during the proceeding. The feed is an unedited draft, not the certified transcript.

Sources: What is court reporting (NCRA) (ncra.org); Federal Court Reporting Program, transcript rates (U.S. Courts) (uscourts.gov)

A deposition taken by telephone or video with the participants in different places. Under federal Rule 30(b)(4) the parties may agree to one, or the court may order it.

Source: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 (Cornell LII) (law.cornell.edu)

NCRA’s next-level skills certification for mid-career reporters. An NCRA member who holds the RPR passes three five-minute tests, at 200, 240 and 260 words per minute, with 95 percent accuracy on each.

Source: Registered Merit Reporter (NCRA) (ncra.org)

An unedited, uncertified version of the transcript, delivered soon after the proceeding for reference. It is not the record and can differ from the final transcript.

NCRA’s foundational certification. A candidate passes a written knowledge test and three five-minute skills tests (literary at 180, jury charge at 200 and testimony at 225 words per minute) with 95 percent accuracy on each.

Source: Registered Professional Reporter (NCRA) (ncra.org)

A file format for moving jobs between different CAT systems while keeping much of the transcript’s formatting. It may not carry every system-specific setting, so test it before a deadline depends on it.

Source: Export RTF/CRE (Stenograph) (solutioncenter.stenograph.com)

A professional transcript editor working for the court reporter, who compares the reporter’s steno with the translated text to catch mistranslations. The reporter still reviews and certifies the transcript.

Source: Scopists (NCRA) (ncra.org)

The reporter’s own list of steno strokes and the words they stand for, which CAT software translates through. Reporters build it over years, often with a job dictionary of names and terms for each case.

The shorthand machine a stenographic reporter writes on, pressing several keys at once to write a syllable, a word or a phrase in one stroke.

A running time reference recorded with the video, in hours, minutes, seconds and frames. Syncing ties each transcript line to its timecode.

The written, verbatim record of a proceeding, produced and certified by the reporter.

The page rules a transcript follows: numbered lines, a set number of lines per page, margins and characters per line. Courts and states set their own; the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, for example, requires at least 25 numbered lines per page.

Source: Transcript Format Requirements (U.S. Court of Federal Claims) (cfc.uscourts.gov)

Linking a deposition video to the transcript line by line, so any line can be played with its video and clips can be cut by page and line.

Making the verbatim record by speaking the proceeding into a closed microphone or steno mask, which keeps the reporter’s voice silent in the room, and producing the transcript from that voice record.

Source: Voice writers, initial statement of reasons (Court Reporters Board of California) (courtreportersboard.ca.gov)