National Court Reporters Association

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National Court Reporters Association (NCRA)

Formation	1899
Type	Non-profit
Purpose/focus	Court reporting industry
Location	Vienna, Virginia
Membership	20,000
Main organ	Journal of Court Reporting
Website	www.ncra.org

The National Court Reporters Association, or NCRA, is an organization for the advancement of the profession of the court reporter, closed captioner, and realtime writer. The association holds annual conventions, seminars and forums, speed and real-time contests, and teachers' workshops to assist court reporters.

Reporters can join NCRA for a fee that varies depending on whether the applicant is a student, teacher, or reporter. Membership allows a reporter to take the certifications, get discounts on conventions, attend conferences, and have access to a network of other professionals in the field.

History

NCRA was established in 1899 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, as the National Shorthand Reporters Association (NSRA). They created standardization of ethical codes, transcript rates, and information for all shorthand reporters. They published "The Shorthand Writer" and started the National Speed Contest, which is still held today. NCRA developed the first standardized test for court reporters to gauge their proficiency. Called the Certificate of Proficiency, it was replaced by the Registered Professional Reporter.

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The advantages of stenographic court reporting and realtime over digital audio recording/electronic recording

Stenographic court reporters cover the cost of upgrades to new equipment and software in most jurisdictions. The costs of software and hardware updates are subsequently shifted onto the taxpayer when digital audio recording is used.
A realtime stenographic court reporter can provide instantaneous “voice-to-text” transcription for any judge, attorney, juror, or witness.
A realtime stenographic court reporter can also provide judge and all parties a daily record of the proceedings.
Electronic recording and digital audio recording transcripts may have inaudible statements, tapes are easily lost or misplaced, the equipment may fail or a clerk forgets to turn it on.
Studies conducted by Justice Served, and independent court management consulting company found that the cost of producing a transcript from a stenographic court reporter is less than the cost of producing a transcript from a digital audio recording.
Jurisdictions in New Mexico, New Jersey, and Texas, as well as others, have seen a return to a stenographic court reporter due to failures in their audio recording systems.

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Membership with NCRA

NCRA supports individuals through education and certification, promotion of the stenographic profession throughout the legal industry, and defense of the industry in government. NCRA provides news and information to its members through email newsletters and its JCR magazine, as well as on its website. Industry professionals benefit from membership with NCRA by broadening their network, bringing them new business, personal and career enhancements, and receiving access to information and education.

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Standardized tests

NCRA offers three main certifications:^[1]

RPR, Registered Professional Reporter
RMR, Registered Merit Reporter
RDR, Registered Diplomate Reporter

They have established seven other certification programs:

CRR, Certified Realtime Reporter
CBC, Certified Broadcast Captioner
CCP, Certified CART Provider
CLVS, Certified Legal Video Specialist
CRI, Certified Reporting Instructor
MCRI, Master Certified Reporting Instructor
CMRS, Certified Manager of Reporting Services
CPE, Certified Program Evaluator

The written knowledge portion of the exams is offered four times a year at Pearson VUE Professional Centers, and the skills portion of the exams is offered twice a year at NCRA-sponsored testing sites.

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Steno Contests

Steno contests are held annually at the NCRA Annual Convention and Exhibition in two categories: Speed and Realtime.

2010 Speed Contest

Mark Tod Kislingbury of Houston, Texas, won the 2010 speed contest with an accuracy of 99.228% topping a field of 36 competitors. Deanna Boenau of Sarasota, Florida, won the 2010 realtime contest with an accuracy of 98.667% topping a field of 40 competitors.^[2]

2011 Speed Contest

Alan H. Brock, RDR, CRR, of Boston, Mass., won the 2011 speed contest with an accuracy of 99.265%.^[3] JoAnn Bryce, RMR, CRR, of Castro Valley, Calif., won the 2011 realtime contest with an accuracy of 99.039%.^[4]

2012 Speed Contest

Sherry Bryant of Harrisburg, Pa., won the 2012 speed contest with an accuracy of 99.380%.^[5] Tammy Milcowitz, RMR, CRR, CBC, CCP, of Oldsmar, Fl., won the 2012 realtime contest with an accuracy of 99.583%.^[6]

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Certified Schools

Although the NCRA is not an accrediting agency, they have established general requirements and minimum standards expected of a court reporting school. The following schools have met those requirements as of 2012:^[7]

Alabama