Official Court Reporter I or II/District Courtroom Clerk

State of Nebraska•Omaha, NE

23h•Onsite

About The Position

The Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation (AOCP) is accepting applications for a full time District Courtroom Clerk/Official Court Reporter in the Douglas County District Court, 4th Judicial District. Under direct supervision of District Court Judge Michael Jensen, this is a responsible paraprofessional position. 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). This is responsible courtroom work related to capturing and maintaining a verbatim record of court proceedings and other matters of increased complexity. Official Court Reporters who would like to work for the AOCP and are not interested in doing freelance court reporting are given the option of having the AOCP purchase and keep updated all of their equipment and software. For stenographic official court reporters, this includes providing you 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 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 (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Education above the high school level may be substituted for work experience on a year for year basis (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
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 Court Reporter I).
Certification from National Court Reporting Association (NCRA), American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), a state court-reporting certification with equivalent requirements, or official documentation from a court reporting school verifying skills met upon graduation (for Court Reporter I).
Pass both the AAERT Certified Electronic Court Reporter (CER) test and the AAERT Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET) test in compliance with Nebraska Supreme Court rules (for Court Reporter I using multichannel digital recorder).
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 (for Court Reporter II).
All educational credits must be granted from an accredited institution approved by the U.S. Dept. of Education (for Court Reporter II).
Successful completion of "on the job training" in JUSTICE (the statewide computer system) within six months of hire (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
MUST demonstrate professional competence as defined in Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Relating to Court Reporting Personnel § 1-204 (F) (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Successful completion of training on use and maintenance of digital recording equipment (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Ability to promptly diagnose and correct routine malfunctions (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Proficiency in note taking and logging procedures (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Knowledge of courtroom procedures and legal vocabulary (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Knowledge of the proper admission of exhibits to be included in the bill of exceptions (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Ability to accurately type on a computer while simultaneously monitoring a proceeding (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Must demonstrate professional competence as defined in Nebraska Supreme Court Rules Relating to Court Reporting Personnel § 1-204(E) (for Court Reporter I and II).
Ability to perform clerical functions using various office equipment (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Ability to accurately type in real time while monitoring a proceeding (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Ability to organize and work under pressure and get along with a variety of people (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Knowledge of functions and maintenance of court recording equipment (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Working knowledge of JUSTICE and DOCKET (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
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 (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Ability to understand the need for and to assist in promoting a proper and respectful atmosphere in the court room setting (for District Court Courtroom Clerk).
Knowledge of Computer Aided Transcription software (for Court Reporter I and II).
Knowledge of legal, medical and technical terminology (for Court Reporter I and II).
Knowledge of a variety of equipment including computer terminals, electronic recording equipment and printers (for Court Reporter I and II).
Knowledge of secretarial practices and procedures (for Court Reporter I and II).
Knowledge of office systems, procedures and equipment (for Court Reporter I and II).
Knowledge of word processing and internet software (for Court Reporter I and II).
Knowledge of court rules and procedures and legal vocabulary (for Court Reporter I and II).
Recordkeeping skills (for Court Reporter I and II).
Skilled in advanced spelling, punctuation, vocabulary and grammar usage (for Court Reporter I and II).
Skilled in the use of word processing and internet applications (for Court Reporter I and II).
Skilled in accurate transcription from audio recordings (for Court Reporter I and II).
Written and oral communication skills (for Court Reporter I and II).
Proofreading and editorial skills (for Court Reporter I and II).
Interpersonal skills to deal effectively with all levels of personnel and the public (for Court Reporter I and II).

Nice To Haves

Legal experience.
Bilingual skills in English and Spanish.

Responsibilities

Enter case information in DOCKET, an enhancement of JUSTICE (the court case management system) of the Nebraska Court System.
Type portions of Judge's decision in real time.
Check and operate electronic recording equipment (computer application based) to record (official court record) and log court proceedings.
Play back sections of recordings for the judge or jury as requested.
Maintain automated logs of proceedings and actions.
Correlate logged information with recorded data.
Mark and log exhibits as they are accepted into the record.
Make notations of witness or other participant appearances, behavior, as well as session times etc. to augment the audio record.
Perform duties related to maintaining and storing court recordings.
Supervise signing in of witnesses.
Maintain courtroom supplies.
Provide real time records for court trials, hearings, or conferences.
Attend courtroom proceedings and other proceedings to make verbatim official recordings.
Read back transcripts during trial and courtroom proceedings.
Transcribe the proceedings according to required formats into accurate transcripts for purposes of appeal or by order of the court.
Review and certify the accuracy of printed transcripts and file in a timely manner.
Check and operate digital recording equipment to record and log court proceedings.
Identify participants by name to facilitate reporting.
Read aloud statements of participants as requested during proceedings.
Prepare, distribute, and preserve transcripts and related reports and documents.
Maintain files and records of notes and exhibits.
Perform clerical duties related to the court.
Attend meetings and training as required.
Undergo a competency evaluation based on criteria upon the request of the judge, the Nebraska Court of Appeals, or the Nebraska Supreme Court.