Board brief, Winter 2009 (Jan. 2009)

BOARD OF COURT REPORTING OF THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF GEORGIA

Board Brief

Issue 4

Winter 2009

George William Abel, Jr. Judge Harry J. Altman, II Judge Linda S. Cowen, Chair John K. Larkins, Jr. Kerry McFadden Vickey E. Riggins Marilyn C. Roe Derrick White Vickie Wiechec

Inside This Issue:

Message from the Chair 1

Calendar of Events

2

2009 Suspension and

Revocation List

2

GSRA 7th Annual Spring

Technology Seminar

3

Vacancy Announcement 3

Introducing Learn2Voice 4

I will Pass the CRR

5

Your Georgia CE

Requirements-How to

Stay Informed

6

Important Notice

7

GCCRA

7

A Message from the Chair

The end of my fourth year on the Board of Court Reporting is approaching, and a new Chair will be elected to preside over the Board in July of this year. So, in my last message to certified court reporters in Georgia, I want to express my gratitude for the privilege of serving on this Board. The Judicial Council of Georgia appointed me to two terms on the Board of Court Reporting. I am truly honored by the appointment, and the opportunity to serve the Council and the Judiciary in this fashion. The members of the Board of Court Reporting have elected me to be their Chair for several years. I am truly honored by their vote of confidence. The staff of the Administrative Office of the Courts who provide support to the Board are some of the most competent people I have ever had the pleasure to work with. Their integrity, their patience, their desire to always improve, their careful attention to detail, and the many other ways that they support this Board are amazing. Aquaria Smith, the Program Manager, has carried and pushed this Board to new heights. She is a stellar individual, both personally and professionally. The staff members are often the target of much complaining and imagined blame by court reporters on various forums. They deserve, instead, only kudos for the wonderful job that they do in helping this Board maintain the integrity of the profession. During these four years, we have accomplished much. The Rules and Regulations have been revised in an attempt to make them simpler and more thorough. The testing of certified court reporters has been handed over to the two national associations, the NVRA and NCRA.

This move will save the taxpayers of the State of Georgia, or the certified court reporters who may soon face the entire burden of financially supporting the Board, tens of thousands of dollars each year. The Board has taken on the project of revising the "Handbook", renaming it the "Resource Guide", and will publish a revised issue in the near future. The Board has reviewed an increasing number of grievances, and taken appropriate action on each of them. The Board is actively taking steps to increase supervision and ethical governance of court reporting firms.
The Board's Court Reporters Training Council, with the help of the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education, has been actively working to make the rules and the reporting of continuing education of court reporters easy and accurate. CRTC has also worked hard to review continuing education courses, and provide an on-going list of approved courses each year.
The members of the Board who have served with me, and who will continue to serve after my absence, are the best of their professions. Judges, attorneys, official court reporters, freelance reporters, machine writers, and voice writers, these members have all worked hard as volunteers, to actively do the best job possible. Court reporters in Georgia are lucky to have them. "Thank you" is simply not enough to express the gratitude that I have for these hardworking, passionate, ethical individuals.
I believe that this Board has improved the profession of court reporting in Georgia. The Georgia Court Reporting Act provides that "the practice of court reporting carries important responsibilities in connection with the administration of justice, both in and out of the courts, and that court reporters are officers of the
continued pg 2

Hard copies of this publication are available upon request.

Page 2

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
April 1, 2009 July 31, 2009

December 31, 2009

Deadline for Renewal of Certificate, and Firm
Learning Essentials About Professionalism (LEAP) Seminar
Deadline to cure suspension status for non-payment of License Renewal
Deadline for submission of CE Credit

Serving Georgia's Courts...

2009 Suspension and Revocation Lists

The Board of Court Reporting of the Judicial Council of Georgia publicly list court reporters who fail to renew by April 1st of each year or meet the mandatory continuing education requirements. Though every effort is made to provide an accurate list of suspended or revoked court reporters, it is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or upto-date. This listing is for convenience purposes only and is not intended to be an official record of the current status of court reporting licenses. It is recommended that you contact the Board of Court Reporting for verification of information and not rely solely on the informa-

tion of the listing. A list of suspended and revoked court
reporters can be found on the Board of Court Reporting website, www.georgiacourts.org/ agencies/bcr. Please note suspension is effective immediately upon noncompliance, not upon receipt of notice. A suspended certificate may be reinstated by curing the cause of the suspension prior to December 31st of the year in which the suspension occurs. If the suspension is not cured by December 31st of the year in which the suspension occurs, the certificate is automatically revoked.

A Message from the Chair cont.

courts." In recognition of the important role that court reporters play in the judicial process, the Board has made every effort to provide competent and ethical court reporters in aide of the judiciary. This is an ongoing process, but great strides have been made, and certified court reporters in Georgia can be proud to be part of their profession.
So, court reporters, I urge you to strive to be the best you can be. Take care of business. Be a role model for others. Always concern yourself with the ethics of your behavior.

Serve your profession by volunteering to be on the Board of Court Reporting, or on the Court Reporters Training Council. Be an active member of the Georgia and national court reporting associations. You are an important part of the administration of justice. Honor your role and your profession.
Hon. Linda S. Cowen Judge, State Court of Clayton County Chair, Board of Court Reporting

Board Brief

Issue 4

Page 3

GSRA Hosts its 7th Annual Spring Technology Seminar.

One Day, Ten CEUs.

For those who need reinforcement, something for everyone is the goal of GSRA at its annual spring seminar this year. Participants wishing to achieve better proficiency with the latest available technology will be able to select from among eight trainers coming from areas of the west coast, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida. Not only will trainers from CaseCATalyst, Eclipse, Stenovations, ProCat and Aristocat be present, but GSRA is very excited to introduce trainer Chris Ales to this bevy of professionals.
Chris will be conducting an allday Realtime for Voice Writers workshop. A professional voice writer and former court reporter, Chris first introduced CAT software for voice writers in a courtroom setting and was the first person to provide live speech?to?text instantaneous transla-

tion. She was also the first person in the US to provide CART services for the deaf and/or hard of hearing individual and the first to provide Closed Captioning using speech recognition software. It doesn't matter what CAT system you use, this track is geared toward equipping the reporter with the best possible scenario for voice recognition and translation.
In addition to the new voice track, there will be a Microsoft Essentials workshop geared to the reporter wishing to master Microsoft Word for personal and/or professional usage plus instruction during the luncheon on protecting your computer investment from viruses, Trojans and spyware ... oh my!
And for those who don't know Art Cochran, he is the English teacher from Brown College. Art will be conducting a workshop entitled, Ask Art:

How the Heck Do I Punctuate This Transcript? This will be a reporter roundtable discussion of the punctuation problems reporters encounter in their work from the routine and repetitious to the really ugly stumpers for which there are no rules. Submit any and all tricky punctuation of the spoken word to GSRA for review at the seminar.
Again, mark your calendars for March 21, 2009, at Clayton State University. GSRA took the time and painstakingly chose the best of the best from around the country to conduct an intensive one-day training workshop. Don't miss out. Seating is limited. For more information, log on to www.gsra.org to register or email kimhunnicutt@comcast.net. See you in March!

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
Four (4) Board of Court Reporting Seats

The Board of Court Reporting of the Judicial Council of Georgia was established to regulate the profession of court reporting. Its mission is to ensure the integrity and competency of the profession by establishing and enforcing the standards by which court reporters are governed, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, and providing educational services.

two representatives from the State Bar of Georgia, and two members from the judiciary; one a superior court judge and the other a state court judge. The Board is currently seeking to fill four of its nine seats for a new term of appointment; the vacancies comprise the seats of three certified court reporters and one state court judge. The term of office shall be for two years beginning August 1, 2009.

reporting or law) in order to qualify for a seat. Please submit a letter of interest and resume to:
Aquaria R. Smith Program Manager Board of Court Reporting 244 Washington Street, S.W. Suite 300 Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Announcement The Board of Court Reporting is
composed of nine members which include five certified court reporters,

Qualifications Prospective applicants must pos-
sess at least five years of experience in the above prescribed disciplines (court

Deadline for submitting an application: March 31, 2009

Page 4

Introducing Learn2Voice

By: Chris Ales, CSMR, 4MRCT
Alittle bit about me. I currently live in sunny Florida and provide CART for HRI (www.hricart.com) for individuals who are deaf and/or hard of hearing. I began my career as a stenomask reporter in the circuit courts in Michigan, worked as a deposition and trial reporter here in Florida, and after transitioning to real-time voice writing, worked for two major captioning companies, providing broadcast captioning for six years. Some "firsts" I'm proud of: I first introduced Computer-Aided Software in a courtroom setting in the US. I was the first person to provide live speech-to-text instantaneous translation. I was also the first voicewriter in the US to provide Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and the first to provide realtime Closed Captioning using speech-recognition software.
As a CART provider, I took Deaf culture sensitivity training and attended American Sign Language (ASL) classes. I have co-authored two online training platforms and two books. I consult and conduct seminars in voice writing for individuals and businesses. I consult with and build online courses for course creators outside this field as well.
In my role as an online instructor and software beta tester, I discovered Moodle and have since been using it to train others in how to leverage its flexibility for blended and e-learning. I am a 4-Star Moodlerooms Certified Trainer (4MRCT).
I'd like to talk about Learn2Voice, my online training course that is offered through Stenograph University. Learn2Voice was developed through years of my use of speech-recognition software in different environments, from my testing and proving techniques that

worked not only for me but for others.
I want to acknowledge those who have in one way or another shared with me and/or mentored me in my journey in the development of this Learn2Voice. I don't think I could have developed a course as thorough, had it not been for the input and friendship from Phil Kaufman, Adria TheriotJohnson, Chad Theriot; Monette Benoit, an early advocate for development of voice writing and the person who introduced me to Marty Block, (who became my partner in the development of ISIS) and to Gayl Hardeman, my CART mentor and employer; and finally my collaboration and friendship with Peter Jepsen, a pioneer himself, who believed in me and supported me through especially challenging times.
My backgrounds in Gregg shorthand, machine shorthand, and voice recognition, combined with years of using various CAT software programs "on the job", have helped me develop a robust course. Learn2Voice, along with a solid academic course of study, will provide a graduate with the ability to work as an accurate, high-speed voicewriter.
Beware of Promises that "Sound Too Good to be True."
One cannot become a voicewriter in a week, a month, or six months learning from the beginning. Learn2Voice takes into account cognitive structures, organizing information more effectively for understanding and remembering; knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Individuals have different learning styles; therefore, the course needs to accommodate various learning styles. These are called VAK learn-

ing styles, which are: visual (seeing and reading), auditory (listening and speaking), and kinesthetic (touching and doing).
Each module within my course is interactive, using audio, visual and interaction between student and instructor. It's been my opinion for years that voice writing cannot be taught by book alone. It's important for the instructor to listen and hear the student's voicing technique and to provide feedback. An instructor should be able to detect a stacking problem, and to troubleshoot nasal or accent issues. -
Learn2Voice is built to be able to incorporate evolving technology. One cannot just build an online course and think that it is done, for technology is always evolving, and it must be tested. Technology waits for no one; it continues to get better and better, offering features and functionality to provide greater accuracy for the voicewriter.
What is Voice-Writing Theory? What is "theory" anyway? It's
an analysis of a set of facts in relation to one other that has a plausible outcome that can be taught and learned by anyone. Gregg shorthand is a theory, Phoenix is a theory, and shorthand is a theory. Listening and repeating is a skill set that is learned through theory and acquired through practice. This skill set is what Learn2Voice teaches.
I am excited about being able to offer this course for those who want to cross-train or begin a career in voice writing. The most successful student is someone who desires to learn, who can make a real commitment to practice, and who can manage time well.
It's a challenge for me as a skilled professional writer to continue to develop new techniques and
continued pg 5

Board Brief

Issue 4
I Will Pass the CRR
BY SANDY BUNCH VANDERPOL

What does CRR mean? As court reporters, we all know CRR stands for Certified Realtime Reporter -- that coveted certification that allows us to shout with pride that we possess skills such as writing realtime at speeds of 180 words per minute on literary material for five minutes at 96 percent accuracy; writing conflictfree theories; writing numbers as roman, cardinal, and ordinal; using flag alphabet to spell words letter by letter; and much more.
But what really does CRR mean to you as a professional? What does it mean to you as a firm owner? What does it mean to you as a freelance reporter? What does it mean to the courts? What does it mean to the official court reporter? I'd like to explore each one of these questions in an attempt to perhaps encourage at least one reader of this article to challenge him- or herself to strive to this level of professionalism -- obtaining your Certified Realtime Reporter designation.
As a professional, the CRR designations garners from your peers respect -- respect for you as a skillful

writer and respect that you've taken the extra step to improve your standing in the profession.
As a firm owner, hiring reporters who have attained the designation of CRR allows for marketing opportunities to your clients and ensures you a level of comfort that this reporter will provide an excellent realtime product to your client and potentially creates an environment for your client that establishes a long-lasting relationship for you.
As a freelance reporter with a CRR, you have a marketing ability that is surpassed by no other certification in the promotion of accurate realtime reporting to firm owners, lawyers, arbitrators, and other end users. Don't hesitate to take pride in promoting your hard work in achieving the CRR to each of these users of our realtime product.
The courts throughout the country recognize the CRR designation as a benchmark for realtime reporting quality. In my home state of California, where many official reporters are unionized, reporters with the CRR designation are first to

be hired, are offered additional pay, and offered complex trials. As an official, your CRR designation opens up similar doors: more pay, more challenging cases, and more opportunity to be hired. The CRR always commands respect of the bench and the bar.
In closing, take a moment to reflect on what you have accomplished in this great profession of court reporting. Every one of you has accomplished the arduous task of committing to at least two years of court reporting school -- which I personally believe commands a great deal of respect in and of itself. Make the additional commitment at the personal level to achieve the CRR which, in turn, provides our profession with one more professional promoting what our job is really about -- realtime reporting and the services and products that secure our future of court reporting!
This article was originally published in the
January 2008 JCR and is reprinted here with permis-
sion of the author and the publication.

Page 5

Introducing Learn2Voice cont.

outcomes for those who seek me out. It's also exciting and gratifying when I can help others feel the excitement I feel when I perform my job.
My commitment is to teach others to the best of my experience and ability the skills without the learning curve that I had to overcome and to make the learning process sensible and comprehensible to meet the challenge of different styles of learning. I delight in that moment when

students feel the gratification of viewing their writing with pride, knowing that others can rely on their accuracy and skills whether for access to full participation in a meeting or for a certified transcript of legal proceedings
I would like to thank Vickie E. Wiechec for inviting me to write this article and for her support and belief in me. I would like to thank Stenograph University for the opportunity to make my course

available to schools that wish to teach voice writing as an alternative career. And finally, to those who have crossed my path in life and have shared with me a bit of them, I am grateful.
For those who wish to inquire about the course contact www.stenographu.com.

Page 6

Your Georgia CE Requirement How To Stay Informed

Have you visited the ICJE Court Reporters Continuing Education Website lately? If not, please take a moment to do so. There are more reasons than ever before to add this important court reporters' website to your computer favorites. Why? As a Georgia Certified Court Reporter, this is your primary source for all the information you need to stay on top of your required training.
ICJE Court Reporters CE Website: www.uga.edu/icje (click "Court Reporters")
The State of Georgia is moving toward paperless administration. As a matter of routine, the Board of Court Reporting and ICJE no longer send bulk mail reminders, alerts or confirmations of your individual CE status. Instead, we offer the website where you can check that information at any time, with ease and at your own convenience. The paperless system actually offers many advantages dollar savings, labor savings, conservation of resources, and more timely information for you. At the same time, the paperless system requires an adjustment to understand that you are responsible to know the deadlines and to track your own progress toward meeting them. Email reminders will be sent from time to time through the Board of Court Reporting email listserv, so always keep the Board updated with your current email address (the one you check daily!).

The CE deadline is December 31 of each year. By the end of each calendar year, you must submit to ICJE evidence of completing 10 hours of approved CE training for that year's requirement. The consequence of missing the CE deadline is that you are automatically suspended on January 1 of the new year.
You can avoid CE suspension by taking classes at any time throughout the year (list of preapproved classes on the website), submitting evidence of those classes to ICJE (forms available on the website), and tracking your progress at the link called CE Credit Hour Status (you guessed it, on the website).
What can you expect to find at the ICJE Court Reporters CE Website?
The CE Credit Hour Status link allows you to track your progress on your annual CE requirement. This link is updated once each month (twice in December near the CE deadline). Updates usually occur during the first week of the month, and include all submissions that were received, approved and processed by the date shown on the front page of the list. In most cases, new CE submissions should appear if they were received by the middle of the previous month. If you have any trouble navigating the list to find your individual CE status, go back to the front page, and scan the instructions. The CCR numbers are listed in alpha-numeric order, which is not always intuitively obvious.

There's more. In addition to CE Credit Hour Status, the website contains: A list of preapproved Classes and Seminars, updated continually. The Continuing Education Manual that shows all the CE rules and requirements. The CRTC-1 and CRTC-2 forms for submitting your classes to ICJE. The Court Reporting FAQ for answers to frequently asked questions about CE. The contact information for questions not answered on the website.
How often should you visit the ICJE website?
Every month to check for new classes. Updates are posted continually throughout the year.
About 30 days after you submit a CE Request to ICJE to confirm that ICJE received and recorded your hours.
Every October (think Halloween) just to check your CE status well in advance of the 12/31 CE suspension deadline.
Mid-January to make absolutely certain that you met the previous year's CE requirement before renewing your license at the BCR website.
ICJE Court Reporters CE Website: www.uga.edu/icje (click "Court Reporters")

Board Brief

Issue 4

Board of Court Reporting of the Judicial Council of Georgia Important Notice:

Effective January 1, 2009, every certified court reporter and registered court reporting firm eligible to renew may process their License Renewal application online at www.georgiacourts.org/agencies/bcr
Beginning January 1, 2009, the Board of Court Reporting Renewal of Certificate fee is $125.00 for certified court reporters, and $200.00 for court reporting firms.

The deadline to renew your certified court reporter license is April 1, 2009. Failure to renew shall result in suspension of certificate. Late fee(s) will apply.

For a hard copy of the renewal form, please contact the Board at (404) 656-6422. The form will be mailed to the address on file.

Applicable renewal fees can be paid via the secure server using a major credit or debit card .

Page 7

GCCRA

Georgia Certified Court Reporters Association is back on the map! The road has been long and difficult, but thanks to those of you who believe it to be a worthwhile organization, things are looking good.
The seminar in October was a great success. The speakers were interesting and informative, and the camaraderie among the reporters was wonderful. While the day was long and time spent socializing and with vendors was limited, I believe we accomplished our goal of providing the educational opportunity we're obligated to provide for our members and non-members across the state.
Additionally, in the past year we were able to publish and distribute a membership directory; we ran a successful membership drive; and we enhanced and improved the website. A new benefit of membership is the ability to access discounts at Pengad, Office Depot, and Stenograph. If you take the time to look at the web-

site: http://gccra.org you'll find more helpful information, as well as hotlinks to useful sites, the forum (for members), bylaws, classifieds, and other helpful resources.
Election time for new officers is drawing near. The current offices expire on June 30th, 2009. New officers will take the reins on July 1, 2009. If you have any interest in helping GCCRA continue to grow, nominations or letters of interest should be forwarded to Caroline Garcia at 17 Priory Club Drive, Cartersville, Georgia 30120, or you can e-mail Caroline at crgarcia35@yahoo.com or me at speedyreporting@yahoo.com to convey that nomination. The hope and goal is to acquire broad-based representation from across the state, both steno and voice writers
Even before elections are held, we invite you to have your voice heard by joining one of our active committees: continuing education, court futures, legislation, membership, or public relations. Once

again, just contact a member of the Executive Board through the GCCRA website and we'll point you in the right direction.
We also have an administrative assistant position open. If you know someone who would be interested, they may contact us for a job description/requirements. Caroline or I will be happy to forward that information. We hope to find someone who is not a court reporter and who has time, when required, to devote to membership tasks, website duties, and seminar planning and coordinating, et cetera.
The enthusiasm for this organization is growing as we travel down the road to greater success, and we definitely want you on our radar screen. Help us make GCCRA the best it can be.
Carol Mallory President