News & Information

STATE

    Did you know that AK, KY, UT, VT officials have been totally ELIMINATED? In AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, NJ, OR, IN, WA, PA, and NV many official reporters have been replaced with ER and/or their positions are not being filled upon leaving. Did you know the ER representatives have been contacting court administrators throughout the state of Georgia (metro Atlanta take heed!) in large and small counties? If you're in a small county, don't think you're safe. Rumor has it that you will be the easiest to pick off. Did you know ER firms are also courting law firms to do FREELANCE work at a fraction of the cost? This is already happening in other states.

    Did you know that over half the court reporters in Georgia are NOT members of a Georgia association? Please encourage your friends and co-workers to join GCCRA.  After all, you never know when you might need your association to stand up for your rights. The more members we have, the easier the future financial burden will be on all of us. States with large memberships are able to accomplish much more with their state associations than we have been able to accomplish.

    The time of high membership, low-costs and simple seminars is over. Your state associations simply cannot defend today's critical issues with the current low membership, low budget, and apathy among reporters.

Student & Associate Membership

    In response to requests received from colleagues of Georgia court reporters, the GCCRA Board has adopted two new classes of membership to include students and associates.  Associate membership will include but is not limited to court reporting instructors, vendors, retired reporters, scopists, transcriptionists, proofers, videographers, interpreters, and CART and captioning providers.


Brown College of Court Reporting Offers New Voice Writing Program

Beginning April 1, 2008, Brown College of Court Reporting began offering a 2-year realtime ciurriculum for voice writers, utilizing Advantage Software's Total Eclipse Vox.

    "Our professional advisory board has urged us to add real-time voice reporting to our training.  We have been watching the progress in speech recognition technology very closely for several years.  We believe now is the time to add it to our school in order to produce more court reporters who are well-prepared for the profession"

    "Whether using steno or voice, reporters benefit greatly from computer-aided translation.  Without this technology, they must follow a laborious process of typing out their notes or transcribing their voice recordings to produce transcripts.  At Brown College, the students are trained in real-time software because this technology is a tremendous asset in a court reporter's career," according to Brown College of Court Reporting.

    

Georgia Board of Court Reporting No Longer Offers State Certification Testing

    The Georgia Board of Court Reporting no longer offers certification testing.  Those desiring to test must take the NCRA or NVRA exam. Applicants must then apply to the Board of Court Reporting to acquire a Georgia certification.  Both the NCRA and NVRA tests are frequently held in Georgia, but you may take the exam in any state you wish. 

    You may check the GCCRA calendar for testing dates in Georgia or you may visit the websites of NCRA and NVRA for testing schedules. 


Eligibility for Certification:
Any person who meets the following criteria is eligible for certification as a Georgia court reporter.


1.  Has attained the age of 18 years of age;

2.  Is of good moral character;

3.  Is a graduate of a high school or has had an equivalent education.


Certification Instructions:


1.  Complete and submit to the Board of Court Reporting the Application

for Certification and the Georgia Test;


2.  Attain a passing score on the Georgia Test;


3.  Attach the certification fee of $125.00 for processing;


4.  Mail the Exam Passage Verification form directly to the licensing

agency, NCRA or NVRA.  The Board only accepts the Exam Passage

Verification form from the licensing agency.


For more information, contact the Georgia Board of Court Reporting at bcr@gaaoc.us or

(404) 656-6422.

    

Pay Online

    For your convenience, GCCRA offers online payment of membership dues.  As well, online payment opportunities are available for payment of web-based advertising and annual seminar registration. 

    

Court Reporter Dinner Groups

    Meet with your peers, strengthen community, increase networking.  CR groups are independently organized by volunteers.  Groups meet in-person with court reporters of all levels to discuss and share information on a variety of topics. Participation in a CR group is an excellent, inexpensive way to receive technical content, education, and to get more out of court reporting products, technologies, and resources.

    If you are interested in managing a dinner group in your area, please contact Dorraine Stanley or Dessa VanSchuyver. 

Check Your Local Gas Prices

    Would you like to know which gas station in your area has the lowest gas price per gallon?  Go to MSN Autos and enter your zip code.  You will be directed to a local map along with a listing of gas stations and their gas prices.