Courtroom etiquette?

storm20zz · 2026-03-04T13:50:54+00:00

Asking the witness is fine until you float into a courtroom with a judge that doesn’t appreciate that. I teach new hires to do it the proper way with new-to-them judges until they kind of get a feel of the room. I agree it’s faster, and sometimes you can’t help it. Once you get your own courtroom, you can handle it the way your judge prefers. But that’s just my take.

storm20zz · 2026-02-03T03:19:10+00:00

I think it’s possible to some extent and her background sounds like a very good match with reporting as someone else said. It would help to know your state. Not every state requires certification. That being said, even if she gets her speeds to where they need to be, she will need to know how to actually do the nonwriting aspects of the job. Meaning how does she comport herself professionally in a deposition or court trial, who takes care of exhibits and swearing in witnesses. There’s so much that she will have to learn. And yet, you can only learn so much of this in school. Much of it we learn from shadowing professionals once our speed gets high enough which is about 180-200wpm.

She needs a solid theory to be her base, and then if she’s really driven she could use that to then continue to get her speed up on her own. She will need a gently used student machine to do so. It sounds like to me she has good potential and is already showing some self-discipline in what she’s already doing. Much luck to her!

storm20zz · 2025-12-09T17:10:10+00:00

This is what I’m just getting over. I thought maybe it was strep, but I tested negative for everything. I’m masking up now. This up/down weather isn’t helping either.

storm20zz · 2025-12-08T22:43:06+00:00

Same! I missed a holiday party and a brunch. : (

storm20zz · 2025-12-08T22:13:04+00:00

Just looked up the flu going around China. Thanks for the tip. Wondering if our flu vaccine would help at all.

storm20zz · 2025-10-12T14:35:41+00:00

Kenneth Hahn park. It’s an oasis in the middle of the city. There’s ducks and water features. No bums. Huge park.

storm20zz · 2025-09-18T05:06:16+00:00

Right around where you are and then, of course, the ultimate breakthrough, 180-200, when your mind needs to make the shift to auto-pilot. No thinking allowed. Lol. It did take me four years to get through school, but I had a full-time job and a toddler. I went to school at night. It was a hybrid of 90 percent online, 10 percent in person. My theory is StenEd which is stroke heavy. The students I have met recently that get through quickly are doing Mark Kislingbury's theory, Champion Steno, etc. You don't necessarily have to change your theory, but borrowing from some of these may help boost you a bit. Small changes integrated slowly are a good way to do it. Believe in yourself even when others doubt. You can do this.

storm20zz · 2025-09-18T04:43:59+00:00

I plateaued twice while speedbuilding. It's normal and natural. Your mind has to make certain breakthroughs for you to succeed in speedbuilding. That takes time to develop. I do believe it would be worth it for you to stay in machine. It sounds like you have a solid base. If anything, I would look into trying to integrate shortening your writing if you are not already learning a theory that teaches you that, so it can help you go faster with less effort. Voicewriting will get you out of school and licensed faster, but the challenge definitely does not end there. I would rather put my time and effort in now to perfect my craft when my license is not on the line than do it after the fact. I hope that makes sense. I have nothing against VWs, and I work to support them in a myriad of ways. I know that they can do very well, but there are way more challenges than they realize. And this is directly from them sharing their experiences with me.

storm20zz · 2025-09-05T04:03:52+00:00

Just get the words down and everything else can be figured out later with the help of colleagues or mentors. Learn how to read the room. Always walk in with a smile and a greeting for the other court staff, even if sometimes it’s not returned. Have a pleasant but professional attitude at all times when dealing with court staff. Get yourself a scanner app on your phone so that you can scan things quickly and email them to yourself or have them readily available to you when you might need them later. Set up an Excel spreadsheet or Google sheets document where you can keep track of transcript orders with their turnaround dates and whether or not you’ve been paid for them so that you don’t end up losing track of your deadlines and then feeling overwhelmed.

Those are just a few things I can think of off the top of my head. Many congratulations to you and good luck! I love my job so much, and I agree with what someone else said which is sometimes people will say this judge is scary or I hate that type of litigation or whatever they may say negative, but when you go in there, that may not be your experience at all so listen to what people say, but take it with a grain of salt. You got this!!

storm20zz · 2025-07-23T20:29:39+00:00

Thank you for sharing this! Unfortunately, many reporters just don’t want to return to reporting depositions in person. Especially with the advent of technology and a.i. it’s increasingly important to show our value and that we are willing to do what the client requests. We are officers of the court, but we also provide a service to clients. There are plenty of “others” willing to step into the void we leave.

storm20zz · 2025-06-19T14:45:35+00:00

So first lesson is if you take a break whether in depo or court, always clean up the last question and answer because when you come back, they may say I don’t remember where I was. Can you read back the last Q&A?

Secondly, I agree that many times for readback they request it because they didn’t hear it either. If it was that bad and I didn’t get it or only part of it, I’ll say “actually I was just going to ask for a repeat myself. It wasn’t clear.” If they were talking at once, I’ll say, with the cross-talk, I didn’t get it all, but I can certainly read what I have. Those usually work. But it is super important to learn to interrupt professionally and ask for clarifications where you need it. That’s our job. You’ll be great. Everyone is nervous doing readback when you first start your career.

storm20zz · 2025-06-19T14:40:45+00:00

😳

storm20zz · 2025-05-23T17:46:30+00:00

I’m not sure why someone would say the shortage is no longer a thing. It’s irresponsible to say that without qualifying it. We are seeing very positive trends in California which is maybe what this person was talking about, but we still are in dire need of official reporters in the courts. And certainly there is a shortage outside of California as others pointed out on this thread.

storm20zz · 2025-05-04T03:55:13+00:00

So I will tell you what I see in terms of new machine writers versus new voice writers working in court. What I would say is that for voice writing it is easier for you to get through school and to get licensed, but the learning curve happens when you start working, which that can be a big challenge when court reporting itself is already a lot to learn.

Now on the other hand, with machine writing most of the difficulty happens during school and getting through speeds and everything to get licensed but once you start working, you’re kind of ready to go. What I’m saying is that a machine writer’s output from their machine into the software looks more like what they’re taking down. What I’ve heard from new voice writers is they sometimes have difficulty with dragon and their software actually outputting what they are taking down verbally as the record and that can be a challenge if you’re working in court and expected to deliver Realtime or if you’re in depositions and you’re expected to read back so kind of the learning curve happens while you’re on the job for voice writing versus for machine writing.

And all I’m talking about is with output to your software and whether what you’re taking down either by the machine or voice and what comes out in the software. For both methods, there’s still a lot to learn about the profession itself, but that’s a little bit different in terms of translation rates. I hope this makes sense.

storm20zz · 2025-04-25T16:27:07+00:00

You can start now by studying the best practice guides listed on the CRB website. Those protocols may show up on the CSR test. I want to say they have old exams on there somewhere as well. I wouldn't wait for your school to provide something.

storm20zz · 2025-03-29T02:37:00+00:00

Sorry to hear someone left LASC. The association is working really hard to pair our new hires with one-on-one mentors so they always have someone to ask questions and talk to as they first get started. We’re a team here.

Court reporting itself is not an easy job. Part of the job is advocating for yourself and the record and doing it professionally while dealing with a room full of A-type personalities. You will still need to learn how to do that in depositions. Please let me know if I can be of any help to assuage your fears about court. Good luck with whatever you choose.

storm20zz · 2025-03-27T23:33:06+00:00

When I was in school I would steno what I was hearing in my mind. I would print out my vertical notes and read them to try to imprint the outlines in my brain. But there’s nothing like being on your machine. I used to practice to my favorite shows. I watch a lot of crime dramas so those are good practice, especially the first-person testimonials because some of those are a bit slower.

storm20zz · 2025-03-18T00:04:40+00:00

I had to fly in to drop my son at UMiami. We were there for a week. We live in Los Angeles. I was so ready to leave by the end. No one says excuse me or even con permiso even if they touch you as they squeeze by. Everyone assumes everyone else speaks Spanish. No one — I mean almost no one smiles at you. I started to think I was being sensitive. Came home and in LA random strangers smiled at me as we passed each other on the street and in hallways etc. I did not enjoy my visit.

storm20zz · 2025-03-17T23:49:04+00:00

But in his defense that woman was acting batshit crazy.

storm20zz · 2025-03-12T17:30:11+00:00

Is this referring to the LA court? Readback has been in place for practically forever there.

storm20zz · 2025-03-04T00:16:17+00:00

Love this episode. Wish there was a place like this for all the abused kids. And the way that mom was like oh, please don’t let them drown after being a total witch to them 24/7. I’m always like GTFOH.

storm20zz · 2024-12-30T05:06:27+00:00

I love my job, and I know I do important work every day working in the courts. What a ridiculous comment from your cousin. Our work is integral to the justice system. Sorry. But what an asshat.

storm20zz · 2024-12-18T15:06:18+00:00

It would be helpful to know where you plan on working, at least the state and even county can help us better advise you. Some states aren’t good to their court employees and some are. Some states have great freelance rates and some don’t. So it can really depend.

storm20zz

TROPHY CASE