I had the honor of being in the same room with 14 court reporters that are reporting the Guantanamo Bay war trials for the United States of America.  In my March 2012 blog, I posted an RFP by SAIC.  The RFP looked daunting.  Some of the line items for the court reporter(s) who would qualify for the job included top secret clearance, being willing to travel to “red” zones, and being a Certified Realtime Reporter.

The court reporters working the trials are known at GITMO as “the Stenos.”  The Stenos’ job is to write a verbatim realtime transcript for the press corps in order to allow for transparency.  The final transcripts are uploaded to a website on the same day as the testimony is given.  (The official record is created by military court reporters.)  The Stenos upload their transcripts to a website for the world to read.

Nancy Varallo of Court Reporting & Management Services assisted in putting the RFP together and put together a team of some of the most talented CRRs in the country.

This is not my story to tell.  If you get a chance to be in an audience with the Stenos and hear about GITMO and the work they are doing, don’t hesitate to attend.  At the end of the GITMO presentation at the NCRA convention in Philly, there was a standing ovation.

No machine can do what the GITMO Stenos are doing.  When it comes to writing history, look for a court reporter.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter

I believe at some level many court reporters around the United States suffer from atelophobia.    One could say that a person that is attracted to becoming a court reporter gets some joy or satisfaction out of striving for perfection.  Being fast and accurate are the two ingredients that are essential for the profession.

Our industry is changing and realtime has become a new important ingredient to being a court reporter.  Speed and accuracy are still essential, and now we have an opportunity to leverage our skills for our future.  I know amazing writers that have their CRR and won’t hook up.  Why?  The stress and fear of anyone knowing they are not perfect.  Having atelophobia is holding them back, and I am afraid this sickness is an epidemic throughout the country.

According to Wikipedia, examples of atelophobia include a fear of talking on the phone, going for a job interview, public speaking, and writing because of the feeling of not being good enough or meeting other people’s standards.

Symptoms include:  dry mouth, feeling dizzy, muscle tension, hyperventilation, trembling, rapid heartbeat, feeling a loss of control, and an intense feeling of impending disaster.

I am attending the NCRA convention this weekend in Philadelphia, and the question I hear at every seminar and while chatting with firm owners from across the country is, how do we get our great, loyal, wonderful court reporters to get over their fear to write realtime?  They have the talent, but lack the confidence.

There is no easy answer.   In doing research on the internet on how to deal with atelophobia, it is suggested that a person use traditional talk therapy, find a support group, hypnotherapy, and/or relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.

The firm owners I have been chatting with are implementing realtime seminars at their offices, providing court reporters subscriptions to practice a minimum of 15 minutes a week online with the Stenograph, MagnumSteno, or Realtime Coach systems.  Court reporting managers around the USA are brainstorming on how to support court reporters to become all they can be.

Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.  It is time for atelophobia to be wiped out for court reporters everywhere, from San Diego to Washington DC and beyond.

@rosaliekramm   Twitter

Because court reporters have the unique and amazing skill of writing the spoken word in realtime, one of the services a court reporter may provide is a rough draft transcript.  Attorneys can save the cost of an expedited transcript by ordering the rough at the end of a proceeding.

Eight need-to-know facts about rough drafts:

1. Pursuant to California CCP Section 2025.540(b), When prepared as a rough draft transcript, the transcript of the deposition may not be certified and may not be used, cited, or transcribed as the certified transcript of the deposition proceedings.  The rough draft may not be cited or used in any way or at any time to rebut or contradict the certified transcript of deposition proceedings as provided by the deposition officer.
2. 2.        Pursuant to California CCP Section 2025.220(5)  Any offer to provide the instant visual display of the testimony or to provide rough draft transcripts to any party which is accepted prior to, or offered at, the deposition shall also be made by the deposition officer at the deposition to all parties in attendance. 
3. 3.       California CCP Section 2025.220(5) Any party or attorney requesting the provision of the instant visual display of the testimony, or rough draft transcripts, shall pay the reasonable cost of those services, which may be no greater than the costs charged to any other party or attorney.
4. There is typically a cost to ordering a rough draft.
5. Many court reporting firms require the order of a Certified Copy of the transcript if a rough is ordered.
6. Some roughs are “rougher” than others.  An attorney can expect a rough draft that has minimal or no steno (perhaps only proper names or citation from documents will be in steno).  If a court reporter is offering “free roughs,” chances are the product will not be useable or helpful.  Good/clean rough drafts have tremendous value.
7.  If a deposition or court proceeding is unusually technical, fast, or difficult, it might take a court reporter longer to get the rough out.  If you are using the same court reporter/same firm in a case, the court reporter will have built up a job dictionary of proper names and abbreviations for commonly used phrases, and will most likely be able to provide a rough within minutes.
8. Some court reporting firms charge for a “cleaned-up rough.”  If you are receiving a realtime feed into your laptop, there is typically a fee for the realtime feed (which includes the realtime transcript in your computer).  If a party then asks for a “cleaned-up rough,” in other words, a rough draft that the court reporter has gone through and fixed the steno, misstrokes, et cetera, some court reporting firms charge a fee on top of the realtime transcript in your laptop for the “cleaned-up rough.”

The providing of rough draft transcripts is just one of the amazing services a great court reporter can provide in the world of fast-paced litigation.

@rosaliekramm  Twitter