This is the wikizine for those involved in court transcriptions and those considering these fields as a career.
Court reporters, also known as stenographers, are responsible for getting down the proceedings of a trial, word for word...
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This is the wikizine for those involved in court transcriptions and those considering these fields as a career.
Court reporters, also known as stenographers, are responsible for getting down the proceedings of a trial, word for word. The stenographer has to transcribe a minimum of 225 words per minute to become certified. This professional will often send that initial copy to a "scopist" for completion. It's the scopist's job to clean up the copy (punctuation, spelling, etc.) and to format the copy according to court requirements. The scopist can often work from home.
For those already in the field, this wikizine is a place for tips and news in the field -- from software to practices. For those interested in a career in court transcription, here's where you can read, learn, and see if you'd like to become part of this courtroom world.
Apple Computers have scored a big consumer hit with the new CoreDuo technology that enables the use of Windows-based software on a Mac computer. Up until recently, I have always had PCs because my computers have always been mainly for work. I never considered a Mac because of that fact. However, while browsing in an Apple Computer store one day last fall, a big, beautiful iMac caught my eye, and after doing some research on it, I decided to buy one and use it for my scoping business... Read Full Story
For those of you who have arrived at this page and are not familiar with the world of court reporting and/or scoping, I guess I should probably explain what a scopist is really all about! Scoping is a bona fide profession that not too many people outside of the court-reporting venue know about. In short, a scopist supports court reporters by editing their transcripts. Nowadays, the court reporter writes in steno code, just like before, but now the transcript is stored on a computer file... Read Full Story
Under the heading of "very cool," is something that you just won't see at your local department store! One of our fellow scopists, Al, from Reporter Supporter, had the great idea of creating a niche outlet for merchandise geared towards the court reporter and scopist. ScopeShop has some really nifty items. How about a T-shirt featuring a red heart with, "I love my Reporter"? Or a cute little teddy bear wearing a T-shirt proclaiming the same sentiments for your scopist? And who couldn't... Read Full Story
I just discovered a new software application that might be of great use to scopists and court reporters. It's called Tubes, and it allows you to share files with anyone, anywhere, anytime -- instantly and for free! And for everyone who is using Parallels, it will allow you to share both Mac and Windows files, too! Very cool. I found out about Tubes on the official blog for Parallels software, called Ask Ben Anything. Now, this software sounds promising, because you can drop a file into... Read Full Story
For those scopists and court reporters who are using Advantage Eclipse CAT software, there is a great newsletter available -- and it's free! Keith Vincent, a freelance court reporter, has also been an Eclipse field tester, sales rep and trainer for the last 14 years. He is also the sysop for the Eclipse section of the CompuServe Court Reporters Forum. Keith has his own excellent web site that includes video tutorials and an archive of his eTips newsletters. You can subscribe to eTips to... Read Full Story
