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COLORADO COURT REPORTERS ASSOCIATION 6751
South Independence Street, Littleton, Colorado 80128-4047 USA
This will be my last edition as editor of
Ramblings. I want to thank
everybody who contributed articles, advice, proofreading, pictures, etc. to me
– your help was invaluable! Luckily we have an excellent new editor stepping in – our own Jeniffer Aloysius, Webmaster! Jeniffer is chock full of ideas, marketing strategies, and most important of all – energy! I’m confident she’ll do an excellent job for CCRA in her new role as editor, and I am delighted to be staying on as Jeniffer’s Assistant Editor for the upcoming year. Sylvia
OUTGOING PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: by Barbara Birger It’s
been a scary few months wondering what’s going to happen to the jobs of the
official reporters. We’ve gone
from fearing that all officials would be replaced by FTR to feeling secure that
no officials would be replaced by FTR. So
far not one official reporter has lost their job to FTR.
That’s not to say that electronic recording is not finding its way into
the courtroom. Several of the
vacancies for official reporters have been filled by FTR or some form of
electronic recording because of the hiring freeze by the State.
The battle is still on, but at least we can take time now to catch our
breath. The
recommendation from the JBC to the legislature fortunately did not include
anything regarding court reporters. That
lets us breathe a little easier. What
we are still waiting for is the recommendation by the State Auditor’s Office
that has been doing an audit that includes court reporters. At this time we have not been able to obtain any information on the audit
except that it will be out sometime in March. As
far at the State Court Administrator’s Office goes, we have not received much
information. At the officials
meeting in December, Jerry Marroney said that the status of the officials would
change from confidential to certified as of January 1, 2003. It was decided at the end of December not to take that
action. The committee of judges,
administrators, and reporters is still set to meet in the next couple of months. While
all the things that are happening are good, we still feel there is a real
possibility that some change is on the horizon. Hopefully, we will be finding out what those possible changes
will be in the next few months. In
the meantime, we can’t let our guard down. The officials have all been working together and working very hard to
help each other and cover all the courts so that the judicial process can
continue to run smoothly. They are
going beyond the call of duty to cover all the courtrooms that need to be
covered, while in some districts they are severely understaffed. They are to be commended for their dedication. The
main thing that the officials need to remember is that court reporters need to
be seen as more beneficial than electronic recording. The main way to do that is through the use of realtime.
I can’t stress enough how important it is for every official to become
a realtime writer. Hook up to your
judge and the clerk in your court so they can reap the benefits of your realtime
transcript. It will help the judge
in making decisions, and will help the clerk with minute orders and other duties
they have regarding cases. We will continue to monitor the situation, and hope that the next few months will bring some answers to the uncertainty that all officials have been living with for the last six months. Please check the website at ccra.info, as we will be posting updates as any new information is received. (con't page 4) OUTGOING PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE (cont.) Barb Birger As I prepare to wind up my year as president, I
want to thank all the members of the Board for their hard work and dedication to
CCRA. I especially want to thank
Susie DeWitt and Richard Matt. We’ve
all spent countless hours on the phone, in meetings, and following the JBC and
other state committees regarding the officials.
I will be turning over the presidency to the very capable hands of Susie
DeWitt, and will continue to work with Susie and Richard until all the issues
with the State have been resolved. I want to thank Mary Ann Bishop for her role as
secretary-treasurer, and wish her well as she leaves the board. Anne Hansen has done a wonderful job as
director and chairperson of the Freelance Committee.
Her active role on the Board and future duties as secretary-treasurer
will benefit us all. I want to thank Lisa Wagner for serving as
director. She’s given valuable
input on subjects at Board meetings. We
look forward to Lisa serving on the Board for another two years. Tammy Knoepfle has spent her first year as a
Board member, and we look forward to having her on the Board next year. I want to thank Amanda Maze for serving as
alternate director and also as a NCSA representative at the National Convention
last summer. Amanda, I wish you all
the happiness in your future endeavors. I also want to thank Sylvia Noneff for her
guidance as past president. I’ve
been able to call on Sylvia this year whenever I needed advice or consultation. I want to thank Judi Stoneberger, our executive
director, for all the help she has given me.
Judi was always reminding me of things that I didn’t know about that
needed to be taken care of as president. Judi
plays an extremely important role in the success of any president. Finally, I want to thank the membership of CCRA for allowing me to serve as president. It’s been a privilege and an honor to serve this exceptional organization. CCRA Ramblings Classifieds
SPRING SYMPOSIUM 2003 It’s that time of year
again - this year our Spring Symposium is to be held on Saturday, April 26,
2003. Once again, we will be at
the Radisson Hotel (f/k/a Holiday Inn Southeast), 225 and Parker Road, Aurora,
CO (1-800-962-7672). Make
reservations early and mention CCRA for special room rates.
Click here for registration form. AGENDA 7:30 - 8:30
a.m. 8:30 - 10:00
a.m.
10:15-11:45
a.m. 11:45 - 1:15
p.m. 1:30 - 4:30
p.m. Past Presidents
Breakfast will be at 7:30 a.m., before the seminar begins.
Also, there will be an Executive Board Meeting following the seminar. Deadline for
registration: April 11, 2003. Please
plan to attend and support your CCRA. We
anticipate being awarded .6-plus Units for this one-day event. Please note!
The above agenda is subject to change. Questions? Call Claudette Cotter 719.579.9261 or work 719.583.7015 (cacreporting@aol.com) Seminar cost will
include Continental Breakfast and Luncheon. Members $115
Nonmembers $135
Students $40 Lunch Only?
Members $25; Nonmembers $65 Click here for registration form REMINDER: No laptops during seminar presentations. Thank you in advance for your courteous consideration. Click here for printer-friendly form REGISTRATION
FORM FOR 2003 SPRING SYMPOSIUM SATURDAY APRIL 26, 2003 To register, please mail this form to 6751 S. Independence Street, Littleton, Colorado 80128 or FAX (303) 933-0588. CCRA phone: (303) 933-0577. Checks should be made payable to CCRA. For charges, please use the lines provided below. NAME______________________________________ PHONE__________________________ Street Address______________________________City/State/Zip________________________ VISA / MC Acct#_______________________________________ Exp Date________________ _____$115 CCRA Member Cost _____$40 Student Cost _____$135 Non-Member Cost ___$20 Late Fee (after 4/11/03) ___$25 Lunch only members ___$65 Lunch only nonmembers CANCELLATION POLICY: Minus $10 processing fee, refund will be given provided written notice of cancellation is given 7 days prior to the event. Please NOTE: No refunds will be given due to weather/road conditions. PAST PRESIDENTS: The past presidents’ breakfast is included in the cost of the seminar! Click here for registration form
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Proposed CCRA Bylaws Amendment by Amanda Maze, Alternate Director CURRENTLY
IT SAYS THIS: ARTICLE VII - DUES AND CHARGES
SECTION 1. Annual Dues
(a) The annual membership dues shall not be more than $100.00. The
actual dues for the ensuing year shall be fixed by the Executive Committee as
soon as practicable after the annual meeting of the association. Annual
dues shall be payable as of March 1 of each year.
Annual dues for Associate Members shall be fixed at three-fourths (3/4) of the
full membership dues figure.
Annual dues for Retired Members shall be fixed at one-fourth (1/4) of the full
membership dues figure.
Annual dues for Student Members shall be fixed at one-fourth (1/4) of the full
membership dues figure.
Honorary Members shall be exempt from payment of dues.
(b) Any member whose dues remain unpaid as of June 1 of the current fiscal
year shall be suspended from all privileges of membership, subsequent to notice
being given. Notice of nonpayment shall be sent by April 1, and a second
notice shall be sent by May 1 stating that membership will be suspended on June
1 if payment is not received. Any member suspended for nonpayment of dues
may be reinstated at any time prior to August 1 upon payment of the full year's
dues.
(c) Memberships of those members who are under suspension for nonpayment
of dues on August 1 shall be terminated. A member whose membership has
been terminated for nonpayment of dues may be reinstated upon fulfilling the
current requirements for membership.
(d) Payment of dues shall entitle a member to a subscription to the
official publication of the association.
SECTION 2. Proration of Dues
The current year's dues for any application accepted for membership in the
association after October 1 shall be reduced fifty percent (50%) for that year.
SECTION 3. Other Charges
The Executive Committee shall be empowered to assess to the membership such
other charges as may be rendered necessary by the duly authorized social,
fraternal, business, educational, and legislative activities of the association. I
PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING CHANGE:
(b) Any member whose dues remain unpaid as of June 1 of the current fiscal
year shall be suspended from all privileges of membership, subsequent to notice
being given. Notice of nonpayment shall be sent by May 1 stating that
membership will be suspended on June 1 if payment is not received. Any
member suspended for nonpayment of dues may be reinstated at any time prior to
August 1 upon payment of the full year's dues. I removed "April 1, and a second notice shall be sent by" from the second sentence. The rationale for this change is that a first notice of nonpayment going out on April 1 is that said notice is crossing in the mail with many people's renewals, which are due March 31. This change would decrease the number of mailings by not sending letters to those whose renewal payment crossed in the mail with the notice of nonpayment. This would save the association money. OFFICIALS UPDATE AS OF 2/19/03 By Susie DeWitt, Vice President In
February 12, 2003, Barb Birger and I met with three State Auditors at the State
Auditor’s Office in Denver, Colorado. We
were invited to attend a meeting by Becky Richardson, Managing Legislative
Auditor for the State of Colorado.
Our two-and-a-hour meeting consisted of us educating the auditors about
our profession. They were tasked with the job of learning how, when, and why
we do our job in a very short period of time.
The question of why do we receive State paychecks along with transcript
monies if we are doing transcripts on state time, of course, was top of their
list. As we all know, this question
has been asked by countless people, countless times throughout the years with
the same answers we have always given.
We all know and can understand that we are a very unique group of
employees, with a very unique skill and pay structure.
We all know and understand that we must purchase our own equipment,
software, updates, supplies, continuing education points, training, licensing
agreements, membership dues, et cetera, et cetera.
We all know and understand that we must pay taxes on our transcript
monies, self-employment fees, scopist fees, proofreader fees, et cetera, et
cetera. We know this; they don’t. Barb and I did all we could to try to explain to the auditors why we are in the category that we are and explain why we are compensated the way we are through the State. We complied with and supplied the auditors with all the information asked of us by them. We were very concerned, and shared this concern, with the auditors that they were in the process of making recommendations regarding our profession, whether it be negative or positive, without even knowing what it is we do and why. I’m not sure how much you can really learn about one’s profession in two and a half hours and explain why it is we do things the way we have for all these years, but we certainly tried.
The auditors were very kind and we felt very privileged to be invited to
such a meeting for an opportunity to share our knowledge and give our input.
It is unclear what the report will consist of at the moment and that will
not be known until the Legislative Audit Committee votes to release it at a
public hearing to be held on Tuesday, March 4, 2003, at 7:30 a.m. After this date and the reports are completed by Jerry Marroney, the State Court Administrator, I’m sure we might possibly know the direction we are all headed. As always, thank you. As we get our information, it is immediately passed on to you. OFFICIALS
UPDATE AS OF 3/4/03 By Susie DeWitt, Vice President Barb Birger and I attended the Audit Review Hearing
this morning at 7:30 a.m. when the “Report of the State Auditor” was
released and discussed. Chapter 3, “Court Reporter and Transcript
Cost” has three recommendations consisting of: “Recommendation No. 14: The Judicial Department should review the current system for
compensating court reporters, evaluate various methods, and report on and make
recommendations for implementing the most cost-effective method of compensation.
This should include:
a.
Adopting a method to track transcripts prepared in-house and eliminate
any overlap in compensation for transcripts prepared during normal business
hours: b.
Requiring court reporters to submit annual income attestation documents,
compiling and analyzing these documents, and adjusting court reporter salaries
as necessary:” Judicial Department Response: “Agree. To be implemented by March 2003. At the request of the Chief Justice, the office of the
State Court Administrator, last fall, began an evaluation of various methods of
court reporting and a review of court reporter compensation, including
transcripts. We will present a
report to the Joint Budget Committee regarding these matters in March, and will
also send a copy to the Office of the State Auditor.” “Recommendation No. 15: The Judicial Department should conduct an analysis of the
various methods of court reporting used both nationwide and in Colorado to
determine which is the most cost-effective and reliable.” Judicial Department Response: “Agree. To be implemented by March 2003. As noted in our response to Recommendation No. 14, we are in the process of completing this analysis and will submit a copy of our report to the Office of the State Auditor in March." OFFICIALS UPDATE 3/4/03 (cont.) By Susie DeWitt, Vice President "Recommendation No. 16: The Judicial Department should reassess the current transcript fee structure by: a. Evaluating the rates set for transcript originals and copies including the purpose for the revenue generated by the transcript fee. b. Evaluating the feasibility of setting rates based on methods other than a per page rate. c. Evaluating the transcript fee and fee revenue in conjunction with an evaluation of court reporter compensation.” Judicial Department Response: “Agree. To be implemented by March 2003. As noted in our response to Recommendation No. 14, we are in the process of reviewing transcript fees and will submit a copy of our report to the Office of the State Auditor in March.” As you can see from reading the excerpts from the report, we still are unclear exactly what our future holds for us. You can view the report in its entirety by visiting the web site of the Office of the State Auditor at www.state.co.us\auditor. A few of Jerry Marroney’s comments consisted of the following: On page 70 of the report they talk about a Canadian study where they charge using a “volume of text” method rather than the page rate method. Richard Matt and I sent Jerry, in the form of an ASCII, five transcripts to run through this Canadian software to compare the costs. We sent to him criminal, civil, juvenile, water, and domestic cases. Three of the five transcripts would have been more expensive if charged using the volume of text method instead of our $2.35 per page rate and the two would have been within $25. Reporters have not received a page rate increase since 1996 at which time was $.10 per page. To date, Colorado’s page per rate is third or fourth from the bottom. Jerry stressed the importance of real time reporters and the benefits it provides to judges, attorneys, clerks, and the backlog of transcripts particularly to the Court of Appeals. He spoke about tying the real time into ICON, which would have numerous benefits for the judicial system. He stated, “The best mechanism is real time…” OFFICIALS
UPDATE 3/4/03 (cont.) By Susie DeWitt, Vice President He
stated that he has checked into the State purchasing all equipment and therefore
the State receiving all transcript monies from reporters and informed the
legislators that that is “too expensive.”
An alternative to this could possibly be taking the State transcript
monies and allowing us to charge for private transcripts and continue to
purchase and maintain our own equipment. After
the hearing Jerry spoke briefly to Barb, Betsy (lobbyist), and myself.
He has a report that is due to the Joint Budget Committee Analyst by the
end of March. He has
set a meeting for next week consisting of four chief judges, district
administrators, Barb Birger, Richard Matt, Betsy Clark, Joyce Martin, and myself
to discuss the drafts for review and input to be made to the JBC analyst at the
end of March. Keep
in mind that our State budget deficit could possibly reach $1 billions dollars
and cuts are not just happening to us.
Layoffs and cuts are happening throughout the entire state. We will do our best to keep you immediately informed of any information we learn next week. Thank you. POSITIONS OPEN! By Susie DeWitt According to our job announcements for the week of 2/24/03, there is also a position in Arapahoe County available through the waiver. It is really important to fill these positions, so anything you can do would be greatly appreciated. Application for CCRA Membership That time of year...
What else do you do at this time of year, the start of each new year? You
pay taxes – painful. You spring clean – no fun. You re-evaluate
your life for all those resolutions – disappointing. Why not do
something fun?!? Renew your membership in CCRA! That’s painless,
fun, and full of things to look forward to! We have lots to offer you
again this year. How do we do this year after year? By your
continued support of your organization. Rejoin soon so we can get a jump
on all of those activities that are just around the corner! Membership
Renewal for March 1, 2003, through February 28, 2004. Deadline is March 30, 2003!
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