ALVIN, Texas – Across Texas there’s currently a shortage of court reporters and only six schools that teach the trade.
Thursday night that number dropped to five after the Alvin Community College Board of Regents voted to cut the two-year program.
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In a 5-3 vote the board decided to phase out its Court Reporting Program, which has been around since 1975.
"I just feel really defeated and I’m in shock," explained Marina Garcia, who is currently in the program. "It was frustrating. I was mad, my blood was boiling because they're closing it down for all the wrong reasons."
The college said the decision to eliminate the program was based on a review which showed the program had low enrollment, low graduation rates and high expenses.
“Demand for the program has dropped significantly over the past 10 years,” explained Board Chair Mike Pyburn in a statement. “We strive to make the best use of our funds and court reporting was not cost effective for the program’s outcome.”
In a statement, ACC President Dr. Christal Albrecht said steep decline in enrollment, graduation rates, completion rates, the number of degrees awarded, non-reimbursable contact hours and pass rates on state license exam. Keeping the program operating was not cost effective for the college.
"There have been varying projections for job growth in court reporting. Despite those projections, it has not translated into the growth in enrollment required to justify the continuation of the program," Albrecht said in a statement.
Garcia said despite the reason’s ACC stated, she’s still upset about the situation.
"They just care about money, they don't care about education or what they're providing for the students,” Garcia said.
A court reporter uses a machine called a stenotype to transcribe court proceedings, trials, hearings, depositions and other official court transcripts.
Alvin Community College said students already in the program will be able to finish the two-year program, but the college will not accept new students.
The program currently has about 60 students and five faculty members.
“ACC has already reached out to another AAS Court Reporting program to establish an agreement where students can transfer and complete the program. Students also have the option to transfer to other institutions with a court-reporting program,” said Albrecht.
COURT REPORTER SHORTAGE
People in the industry are concerned the shortage could continue to bog down the legal system because without a court reporter present, courts are delayed.
“It’s one of the best court reporting programs we have in the state of Texas. It's been around a very long time, and a lot of great court reporters are trained there,” said Carolyn Coronado of the ACC’s program.
Coronado is a court reporter for Harris County and is president for the Houston Court Reporters Association. She is also a recruiter for the Texas Court Reporters Association.
“We have a shortage of court reporters, we really need it to stay open so we can continue to have a place so people can get great training,” said Coronado before the vote.
According to the Texas Court Reporters Association, there will be 5,500 new jobs in the next five years.
According to the National Court Room Association, the average age of current reporters is 51. With many people retiring, the industry is worried there won’t be enough people to fill the open jobs.
“For my future, with another school closing down, I may not have someone take my shifts or cover my vacation,” Garcia said. “We are needed in the courtroom and with no subs to cover for me. It's going to create a domino effect."
HIDDEN PROFESSION AND MONEY MAKER
Coronado said court reporters are in such high demand, in some places in Texas they can make $100,000 after just two years of school.
For example, she said in Harris County, they start off making about $81,000.
“Actually, you can make a really great income and living as a court reporter, or a clerk provider for the deaf or hard of hearing community," explained Coronado. “There is a lot of money to be made out there because of the high demand.”
She said she believes the reason the program isn’t more popular is because people are not aware of the profession.
“I don’t think court reporting program has had a lot of help with advertising or getting the word out there that this profession exists or that they have this program available there,” Coronado said about the ACC program. “Over the years, we haven’t done a really great job of recruiting because we’ve been busy court-reporting.”
“I didn’t even know what a court reporter was,” Garcia said. “When I started the program I was like, ‘Oh something to do,’ It’s very challenging, and I like a challenge.”
A CHALLENGING SKILL
Court reporters are required to type 225 words per minute during a court testimony and 200 words per minute at a jury trial.
“The dropout rate is outrageous. You’re more likely to make it as Navy SEAL rather than a court reporter,” said Garcia. “People just give up, they don’t stick with it. It’s a lot of time, a lot of dedication to get out. There are some people who are naturals, and their brains are wired to theory that we learn to write on the machines.”
Along with typing fast, the state requires a person entering the profession to pass a written knowledge test on court reporting, court procedures and legal terminology.
TECHNOLOGY
Depending on who gives the answer, there are two schools of thought about court reporters and their future as technology progresses.
Garcia doesn't believe technology will take over their jobs anytime soon.
“The courts absolutely need them. We’re essential, even in depositions because we are guardians of the record,” explained Garcia.
She and Coronado said recording devices have and are used from time to time, but there needs to be a human element to correctly transcribe what’s happening.
“A lot of people don’t see how essential we are. We can only take down one person at a time [talking], If the attorney starts arguing, we can usher what happens,” said Garcia.
She said there have been instances where someone may have forgotten to turn on a recording device.
Garcia and other court reporters argue a recording device is not accurate because it will pick up ambient noise, malfunction when multiple people are speaking or not accurately document what someone with a heavy accent is saying.
“With how diverse Houston is, people have such heavy accents, we need to be there to understand what they’re saying, to ask them to repeat themselves,” said Garcia.
Steve Hubbard, who has been a court reporter for 50 years thinks otherwise.
"We were God's gift to the court room 100 year ago , but it's the 21st century, and it costs too much for a transcript," said Hubbard who went on to say automation is cheaper for the courts, attorneys and their clients.
Hubbard, who currently lives in Virginia, said he decided five years ago to get into voice recognition technology.
“It’s [court reporter] absolutely not necessary this day with digital audio put into courts,” explained Hubbard over the phone. “We’re pretty good at what we do, but when digital analog came in, everything is faster and cleaner."
He has a company called Automated Multiple Voice Speech Recognition, or AMVSR LLC.
He said all the parties in a court proceeding wear a wireless mic in the courtroom which captures audio, then is uploaded.
Hubbard said it's faster because the text is uploaded, but he'll still go back and make corrections, something he said a normal court reporter has to do.
He said many magistrate courts and bankruptcy courts are already digital and believes that's where the industry is headed. Hubbard also said because courtrooms are becoming more high tech, he can report from the comfort of his home.
OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM
Stenographers are also used for freelance reporting, live captioning for TV, private firms, stock holders and the government.
The National Court Reporting Association said by 2018, Texas, California, Illinois and New York will be the top states that will need a court reporter.
For more information about court reporting go to https://www.tcra-online.com/.