In a press release soliciting nominations for the Santo J. Aurelio Award, a spokesperson for the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) said the organization was looking to honor a "long-time court reporter who has given back selflessly to the profession or community."

To be nominated for the Aurelio Award, an individual must have been working as a court reporter for at least 25 years and demonstrated altruistic behavior throughout the course of his or her career. Nominees must also be either a participating or registered member of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), or a retired participating or registered member.

"We all know people like this, so look around you and take a few moments and submit a nomination," the NCRF said in a statement.

The award will be presented at an "awards luncheon" on August 10 at the NCRA's annual Convention and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to the Aurelio Award, the CASE Award of Excellence and Student Scholarships will be presented. Furthermore, the newest group of Fellows of the Academy of Professional Reporting and the champions of the Realtime and Speed competitions will be recognized.

Anyone interested in attending the convention should review the brochure available through the NCRA website, which offers more information about the four-day event's agenda, as well as registration details.

Several of the foundation's annual court reporting scholarships have already been awarded, with more to come. On June 1, the nomination period for a student internship scholarship will open. Two students who have finished or are currently completing the internship portion of their court reporting program will be selected to receive $1,000 awards

This was a big week for the 175 graduates of Marquette Law School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who were welcomed to their new profession at a swearing-in ceremony with all seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices this month.

At the ceremony, an article for the State Bar of Wisconsin said, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley asked the new lawyers what it really means to uphold the law, a question once answered by the former dean of Marquette Law School Howard Eisenberg.

"I think it means when you are putting together a deal for a client and there's a wink or a nod, that you will have the courage to be an aggressive advocate, but you will not shade the truth," she said in her address. "It means that you have the courage to embrace unpopular causes and to stand up for the victims, and the poor, and the powerless in our community."

Bradley reminded the new lawyers that there have been many times when those who came before them have lost cases or elections because they did what was right, and she challenged others to do the same. 

For every part of the legal process, having accurate transcripts is vital to the integrity and outcome of the case. With certified court reporters, those involved can be confident that what is said during a deposition is correctly transcribed, and that no testimonies are misrepresented. By being able to rely on an accurate transcript from a Milwaukee court reporter, legal professionals can focus on their responsibilities as a lawyer and concentrate on, as Bradley said, upholding the law. 

When Karen Morris, a certified court reporter, is asked about her job, she has replied with "It's the only job I know of where you can get sent to jail and still have to work." Not only does her work take place in a court room, but if a reporter doesn't meet his or her filing deadlines, they could be jailed, and would still be required to finish their work.

Morris, a resident of Pampa, Texas, has worked as a court reporter for 30 years, first for the 108th District Court, and for the past five years as a freelancer. She has also served as the president for the Texas Court Reporters Association, and liaison from the association to the Court Reporters Certification Board. 

When Morris began her career, she told the Pampa News that one of the reporters she replaced once took notes by hand. Since then, Morris has moved from working on Stenotype machine that records onto a roll of paper, to her recently acquired $6,000 machine, not including the software, that records onto a flash drive. Considering Morris recorded 8,000 pages for a case earlier this month, having the most up-to-date technology is vital. 

Morris also said that even as she upgrades her machines, she collects tools from all over the world, including a 100-year-old Stenotype machine. 

In a profession where every word is required to be 100 percent precise, having the best technology and certified court reporters can make all the difference. Even for court reporting veterans, like Morris, staying up-to-date on all possible resources can help provide the most accurate transcript. 

The idea has an obvious appeal. Getting a typed transcript and a video record of a deposition without having to pay the wages for two professionals to be present sounds great. In fact, it sounds too good to be true.

Having a single individual attempt to perform both services simultaneously may result in the creation of a record that is incomplete or does not conform to existing professional standards.

The most valuable aspect of having a trained videographer behind the camera is that he or she can monitor the equipment and ensure the recording is running smoothly at all times. The same level of performance simply cannot be guaranteed when one person is charged with controlling the camera while creating a verbatim transcript.

The creation of a complete video record depends on the successful coordination of multiple moving parts and it is critical that all equipment is set up properly at the outset of the interview session. Failure to meet existing standards for legal videography could jeopardize the utility of the record.

The set of standards for video depositions developed by the Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS) Council of the National Court Reporters Association includes 62 specific rules. For example, videographers are required to deploy at least four working microphones at all times during a deposition and ensure that the deponent and any exhibits being presented are in clear view of the camera.

The CLVS standards also stipulate that a "videographer shall continuously monitor the video recording" and the audio output during the deposition. It would be nearly impossible for an individual to follow this rule while creating a verbatim transcript.

For lawyers working on cases in Wisconsin, nothing ensures that a comprehensive record of your depositions will be created like working with both a certified court reporter and a trained legal videographer.

Court reporters have often been referred to as the "guardians of the record." While their role in ensuring the smooth functioning of the federal and state judicial systems is widely known, these professionals also contribute to our collective culture in many ways.

For instance, court reporters are often asked to provide real-time captioning services at major public events, such as the World Series and Super Bowl. Today, the industry is working to help transcribe veterans' oral histories in order to preserve their experiences and accrued wisdom for future generations.

In fact, during 2013, the National Court Reporters Foundation (NCRF) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its official partnership with the Library of Congress's Veterans' History Project (VPH).  In recognition of the milestone, the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), which administers the NCRF, put out a press release on April 25 to encourage broader participation in the program.

According to the organization, more than 2,875 veterans' stories have been transcribed through the VPH so far. However, the NCRF is hoping to get that number up to 3,000 by the end of May in recognition of Memorial Day. To that end, the organization is encouraging registered court reporters to interview any wartime veterans they know and transcribe their stories for inclusion in the VPH archives.

The NCRA has asserted that this type of project offers "a great way to 'do good' while raising the stature of the profession to the general public."

Wisconsin court reporters who are interested in participating in this meaningful project can contact Beth Kilker, the NCRF's oral histories project coordinator, to receive more information.

Registered court reporters can earn professional development credits at no cost through the program, while current students are eligible to receive a free membership in the NCRA.

Certified court reporters have an important job that is highly respected in the legal world. Without realtime court reporting, subtle nuances in witness testimony can be overlooked or small details within a trial can be missed. A strong court transcript is essential to a case's outcome, which is why mentoring programs are often used.

In the April edition of The Journal of Court Reporting, several experts in the field discussed the practice of an experienced court reporter working with less tenured individuals to help them become stronger. 

Susan Kiniry, RMR and chair of the Student Internship School Liaison Committee of the Pennsylvania Court Reporters Association, told the news source that mentoring programs are crucial to court reporting.

"It allows the student someone else outside the instructor and their student peers to bond with and learn from," she said. "The mentors can provide students with additional opportunities to observe in the workplace and, as they progress in the program, to attend proceedings and gain real life experience with their skills."

Kiniry added that once students near the end of their program, a mentor can assist – along with the school – in finding possible job opportunities.

According to Lisa Selby-Brood, a court reporter and mentor, it is important for students to have a "cheerleader." She explained that when she was first starting out, there was no one to take her under their wing, answer questions or encourage her to join the state association.

Furthermore, Selby-Brood said that she took a 17-year break to raise children, and then returned to the court reporting field. Even then, she had many questions involving computers, but luckily her boss was able to guide her.

When court reporting mentorship programs are encouraged, the future of the industry is strengthened and courtrooms will continue to have strong, accurate transcripts.