Official Court Reporter I or II/District Courtroom Clerk

State of Nebraska•Madison, NE

12d•Onsite

About The Position

The Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation (AOCP) is accepting applications for a full-time Official Court Reporter I or II/District Courtroom Clerk position in Madison County District Court, 7th Judicial District. This is a responsible courtroom work related to capturing and maintaining a verbatim record of court proceedings and other matters of increased complexity. The work involves verbatim reporting and transcribing for court proceedings, hearings and conferences. Employees in the Court Reporter I classification have met the qualifications set forth in §1-204(A)(2) and § 1-204(B) or (C). Employees in the Court Reporter II classification have met the above qualifications and are certified as a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR), through the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA); or a Federal Certified Realtime Reporter (FCRR). The AOCP offers official court reporters the option of having their equipment and software purchased and updated by the AOCP, rather than doing freelance reporting. This includes providing stenographic reporters with a laptop, docking station, monitor(s), steno machine, software (Eclipse by Advantage Software or Case CATalyst by Stenograph, LLC), microphone and/or handheld device for making a backup digital audio recording of court proceedings, and secure cloud backup storage. For digital official court reporters, this includes an audio recording system (laptop/PC, docking station, microphone(s), mixer), monitor(s), and audio recording software (Liberty Recorder).

Requirements

High School graduation or equivalent and 2 years of courtroom clerk experience.
Education above the high school level may be substituted for work experience on a year for year basis.
Demonstrate professional competence as defined in Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Relating to Court Reporting Personnel §1-204(A)(2) and § 1-204(B) or (C).
For those using the method of a multichannel digital recorder, passing both the AAERT Certified Electronic Court Reporter (CER) test as well as the AAERT Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET) test in compliance with the Nebraska Supreme Court rules to be classified as a Court Reporter I.
Demonstrate professional competence as defined in Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Relating to Court Reporting Personnel §1-204(A)(2) and § 1-204(B) and be certified as a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR), through the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) or as a Federal Certified Realtime Reporter (FCRR) or equivalent.
All educational credits must be granted from an accredited institution approved by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Successful completion of "on the job training" in JUSTICE (the statewide computer system) within six months of hire will be required.
Demonstrate professional competence as defined in Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Relating to Court Reporting Personnel § 1-204 (F): successful completion of training on use and maintenance of digital recording equipment; ability to promptly diagnose and correct routine malfunctions; proficiency in note taking and logging procedures; knowledge of courtroom procedures and legal vocabulary; knowledge of the proper admission of exhibits to be included in the bill of exceptions; ability to accurately type on a computer while simultaneously monitoring a proceeding.
Demonstrate professional competence as defined in Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Relating to Court Reporting Personnel § 1-204(E).
Ability to perform clerical functions using various office equipment.
Ability to accurately type in real time while monitoring a proceeding.
Ability to organize and work under pressure and get along with a variety of people.
Knowledge of functions and maintenance of court recording equipment.
Working knowledge of JUSTICE and DOCKET.
Ability to navigate and select several navigation buttons and options in accordance and response to the type of case, Judge's direction, and other additional information presented during the proceeding.
Ability to understand the need for and to assist in promoting a proper and respectful atmosphere in the court room setting.
Knowledge of Computer Aided Transcription software.
Knowledge of legal, medical and technical terminology.
Knowledge of a variety of equipment including computer terminals, electronic recording equipment and printers.
Knowledge of secretarial practices and procedures.
Knowledge of office systems, procedures and equipment.
Knowledge of word processing and internet software.
Knowledge of court rules and procedures and legal vocabulary.
Recordkeeping skills.
Skilled in advanced spelling, punctuation, vocabulary and grammar usage.
Skilled in the use of word processing and internet applications.
Skilled in accurate transcription from audio recordings.
Written and oral communication skills.
Proofreading and editorial skills.
Interpersonal skills to deal effectively with all levels of personnel and the public.

Nice To Haves

Legal experience.
Bilingual skills in English and Spanish preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Verbatim reporting and transcribing for court proceedings, hearings and conferences.
Entering case information in DOCKET, an enhancement of JUSTICE (the court case management system) of the Nebraska Court System used to capture the various parts of the proceeding that, when completed correctly, will generate Judge's Orders and other official court records, pleadings, and other actions.
Typing portions of Judge's decision in real time.
Checking and operating electronic recording equipment (computer application based) to record (official court record), log court proceedings.
Playing back sections of recordings for the judge or jury as requested.
Maintaining automated logs of proceedings and actions.
Correlating logged information with recorded data.
Marking and logging exhibits as they are accepted into the record.
Making notations of witness or other participant appearances, behavior, as well as session times etc. to augment the audio record.
Performing duties related to maintaining and storing court recordings.
Supervising signing in of witnesses and maintaining courtroom supplies.
Provide realtime records for court trials, hearings, or conferences.
Attending courtroom proceedings and other proceedings to make verbatim official recordings.
Reading back transcripts during trial and courtroom proceedings.
Transcribing the proceedings according to required formats into accurate transcripts for purposes of appeal or by order of the court.
Reviewing and certifying the accuracy of printed transcripts and filing in a timely manner.
Checking and operating digital recording equipment to record, log court proceedings.
Identifying participants by name to facilitate reporting.
Reading aloud statements of participants as requested during proceedings.
Preparing, distributing, and preserving transcripts and related reports and documents.
Maintaining files and records of notes and exhibits.
Performing clerical duties related to the court.
Attending meetings and training as required.
Undergoing a competency evaluation based on the above criteria upon the request of the judge, the Nebraska Court of Appeals, or the Nebraska Supreme Court.