National Verbatim Reporters Association Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR)

A verbatim reporter must remain on the record until all parties agree to go off the record. Stopping the record when an objection is made violates the impartial duty of the reporter, while secret recordings breach professional ethics.

Moisture buildup in a silencer mask can degrade audio quality and damage the microphone, necessitating a brief recess to wipe it and change the moisture pad. Speaking louder, breaking the seal, or dictating openly would disrupt the proceedings and compromise the verbatim record.

‘Voir dire’ refers to the process of questioning prospective jurors to identify any biases or conflicts of interest. The other options describe the verdict reading, sidebar conferences, and the arraignment, respectively.

Standard transcript formatting guidelines require a double dash to denote a sudden interruption or break in thought. An ellipsis is used for a trailing off or pause, while brackets and parentheticals are reserved for reporter’s notes or specific non-verbal actions.

The medical prefix ‘cholecyst-‘ refers to the gallbladder, and the suffix ‘-itis’ means inflammation. Inflammation of the urinary bladder is cystitis, the large intestine is colitis, and the stomach lining is gastritis.

The verbatim reporter’s duty is to certify an accurate record of what was actually said during the proceeding. Post-deposition changes made by a witness are legally handled by appending the errata sheet to the transcript, not by altering the original sworn testimony.

A nonrestrictive appositive provides additional, non-essential information about a noun and must be set off by commas on both sides. The incorrect options either omit one of the necessary commas or place a comma incorrectly after the verb.

Generally, a notary’s jurisdiction is limited to their commissioning state, meaning they cannot legally swear in a witness located in another state without a stipulation from all parties on the record. Without this stipulation, an official authorized to administer oaths must be physically present with the witness.

‘Subpoena duces tecum’ is a Latin legal term meaning ‘under penalty to bring with you,’ which compels a witness to produce documents, materials, or other tangible evidence. A standard subpoena solely compels appearance and testimony.

Voice writers use ‘trailing’ or buffering to temporarily hold information in their short-term memory during rapid or overlapping speech, allowing them to dictate the dialogue sequentially. Summarizing is strictly prohibited in verbatim reporting, and constantly stopping the proceeding disrupts the legal process.

Verbatim reporters use standard parentheticals like ‘(Indicating)’ to note significant non-verbal actions that give context to spoken words. Reporters must never alter the spoken testimony or add their own interpretations of where a witness is pointing.

The NVRA Code of Ethics requires reporters to avoid both actual conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety. Any potential conflict must be disclosed to all parties on the record, and the reporter must step down unless an explicit stipulation is made by all involved counsel.

An analgesic is a class of drugs designed specifically to relieve pain (e.g., acetaminophen, opioids). Anti-inflammatories reduce swelling, antibiotics treat bacterial infections, and hypnotics or sedatives induce sleep.

The court reporter is the official custodian of exhibits once they are marked on the record. The reporter must retain the originals to bind with the official transcript unless there is an explicit, on-the-record stipulation from all parties allowing counsel to retain custody.

In American English, collective nouns like ‘jury’ take a singular verb (‘is’) and a singular pronoun (‘its’) when acting as a single unit. While a verbatim reporter types exactly what is said, for grammar testing purposes, identifying the correct grammatical construction of collective nouns is required.

‘Res ipsa loquitur’ translates to ‘the thing speaks for itself,’ meaning the negligence is obvious from the nature of the accident. Employer liability is ‘respondeat superior,’ and the exclusion of illegal evidence is the ‘exclusionary rule’.

A court reporter’s backup audio recording is considered their personal work product, used solely to ensure the accuracy of the written transcript. It is not an official exhibit or part of the public record, and therefore should not be distributed to counsel.

When a readback occurs, the reporter must indicate on the record that the readback took place using a standard parenthetical. Retyping the text is unnecessary and inflates the transcript, while omitting it fails to accurately capture the events of the proceeding.

The suffix ‘-otomy’ means cutting into or making an incision (e.g., craniotomy). The suffix ‘-ectomy’ means surgical removal, ‘-plasty’ means surgical repair, and ‘-scopy’ means visual examination.

The NVRA Code of Ethics strictly prohibits accepting gifts, favors, or incentives that exceed a nominal value (typically $100 or less, depending on state laws) because it compromises the reporter’s impartiality and creates an appearance of bias. Declining the gift outright is the only appropriate professional action.