To Scopists Working with Official Reporters

[Lois Whitley]

I'm looking to expanding my services to Official Reporters, but not sure where to start. Would I contact county courthouses for reporters? I've done one or two short court transcripts and know that their format is a little different. I'm always confused as to Cross Exam, Re-Cross, Direct Exam, etc., and also as to Exhibits marked versus admitted into evidence. Any pointers/comments you can provide would be appreciated. Also, regarding dailies, does that mean you as a scopist are up at all hours of the night to get the job completed and returned? Comments from Official reporters here are also welcome.

Thanks,

Lois

[Devon Roberts]

Hi Lois,

You may want to consider taking just the Scoping Intern Program (SIP) or some of the conference calls Scoping Made Affordable offers twice a week. The SIP through SMA provides you with any and all material you did not receive from your previous scoping training if you took one.

Check the information out at www.joyfulscoping.com. Or send an email to [e-mail].

Most generally the court reporter will have those items set up or you will see how they want them done if you request a sample transcript of their work prior to working with them. I always request that sample because it provides a wealth of information, including additional preference items which may not be covered on the preference form.

Most generally, the order is:
Direct Examination
Cross Examination
Re-Direct Examination
Re-Cross Examination

The reporter usually has a parenthetical already in a transcript or will send you an include file which you can either copy and paste or insert it into the spot you need being sure to change the name, number and possibly verb form depending on if they're only marking one exhibit or more. (So changing the "was" to "were.")

I'll let someone else respond to your dailies question since I do not scope those very often because of a physical limitation that I have.

Devon

Ms. Devon Roberts
www.joyfulscoping.com
[e-mail]