Whether you are a court reporter interested in COCRA membership, news, student recruitment, or you're interested in learning more about exciting career opportunities, we hope you find the resources you're looking for. Happy navigating!
Posted on September 1st, 2011 by admin
The following letter was sent to the office of Governor Brown, stating COCRA’s opposition to AB 110, a bill which affects the filing of felony pleas and sentencings.
Please refer to our earlier writings about this matter posted here and here.
July 26,2011
Honorable Jerry Brown
Governor
State Capitol, First Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 110 (Blumenfeld)-Request for Veto
Dear Governor Brown,
I am writing on behalf of the California Official Court Reporters Association (COCRA) and the Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21, IFPTE, AFL-CIO (PTE), to request that you veto AB 110 (Blumenthal) when it reaches your desk.
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Posted on August 25th, 2011 by admin
Bring your laptop and join software presenters that will provide training on three of the largest court reporting software including Eclipse, Case CATalyst, and ProCAT. Software presenters will showcase the latest features of each software as well as provide training, tips, and advice on how best to utilize your court reporting software to its full potential.
Laptop not required for this session although it is HIGHLY recommended that attendees bring their laptops.
Free wireless connection is provided.
SCHEDULED TO APPEAR :
1. Advantage Software- Steve Kosmata; Official Court Reporter and Eclipse User
2. Stenograph- Terri Wilson; Stenograph Trainer
3. ProCAT- Deby Owens; ProCAT Trainer
Posted on August 18th, 2011 by admin
October 1, 2011 – 12:00 p.m. – COCRA Fall Seminar – San Francisco
San Francisco State University
Union Square Downtown Campus
The Westfield San Francisco Centre
835 Market Street, 6th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
The California Certificate in Realtime Reporting (CCRR) is a skills test designed to measure the basic realtime writing competency of court reporters. The test is comprised of five minutes of dictation at 180 words per minute at 96% accuracy. Candidates must use their own CAT dictionary. Candidates must perform their own translating functions. Candidates are required to convert their final skills test file to ASCII or PDF format and copy it onto a 3.5″ disk or CD without assistance, and surrender the disk or CD to a CCRR Proctor. Candidates must label their ASCII or PDF disk or CD with their registration number, with a label provided upon check-in; name or any other personal identification is not permitted.
Click here to register.
Click here for more information.
Posted on July 20th, 2011 by admin
In May we reported to you that the language in SB428 to change 1203.01 PC, regarding delivery of plea and sentencing transcripts, had been removed and the issue was pretty much dead – at least during this legislative session. Our reporter unions and associations had expressed their opposition which resulted in the 1203.01 amendments being removed from the Court Omnibus bill.
But in a bold and unorthodox move last week, AB110 (Blumenfield), a bill previously relating to the Revenue & Taxation Code, was completely gutted and amended. The “new” AB110 was drafted to contain provisions related to court budgetary items and included the 1203.01 PC amendments. The vote on this bill was expedited as part of the budget trailer package, and it was passed in both houses on Thursday, only days after it was introduced. This bill is now enrolled and awaiting the Governor’s signature before it becomes law.
The new statutory language deletes the requirement to send copies of all felony plea and sentencing transcripts to the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation upon commitment. Instead, only transcripts in cases where the sentence is “death or an indeterminate term with or without the possibility of parole” would be automatically provided. The amended statute includes language that provides for additional transcripts to be provided upon written request.
Although this appears to be a blow to reporter compensation, the amendment does not necessarily change the standing order in individual jurisdictions, but affects only the copies previously sent to state prison. It is possible this amendment may precipitate changes in your individual court policy. However, please follow the directions and orders of your court jurisdiction with regard to plea transcription.
You can read the statutory language with amendments below:
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Posted on May 16th, 2011 by admin
Amidst an admittedly hostile background of week-long protests in the Capitol by teachers over education cuts, yesterday the Republican leadership in Sacramento unveiled their proposal in lieu of extending the current hotly debated tax base of personal income tax, vehicle and sales taxes.
Instead, among the GOP deficit solutions, was the proposal that all court and state employees take two unpaid furlough days per month, translating to a pay cut of 10%. No court closures were mentioned.
In addition, they rolled out their tiresome, yet infamous solution of implementation of “electronic court reporting,” this year claiming an all-time high $700 million budget savings. It’s unclear where the GOP gets their financial data.
Assembly Minority Leader Connie Conway (R-Visalia) indicated, “The budget approach that we outline today represents the common sense solutions that we believe can be embraced by Democrats and Republicans alike in enacting a reasonable no-tax increase, budget compromise.”
Governor Brown’s spokesman Gil Duran countered, “Unfortunately . . . their budget press release appears to be based on the same old short-term, smoke and mirrors, gimmick-based budget approach.”
Governor Brown’s May Revise Budget is due today.
COCRA and its lobbyists will continue to monitor the state budget and its impact on court employees and official court reporters. Be assured COCRA will be meeting with our lobbyists and representatives as well as various union representatives in negotiations relating to these new proposals and will keep you informed.
Posted on May 11th, 2011 by admin
A 30-year-old statute relating to transcripts of pleas and sentencings involving state prison commitments has recently come into question by the Judicial Council after a complaint was made that the courts were not complying with the statute which requires the transmission of such transcripts to the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation (CDCR). The statute, 1203.01 of the Penal Code, requires the clerk of the court to send the reporter’s transcript of a defendant’s guilty plea and all proceedings occurring at sentencing to the CDCR within 60 days after commitment is made.
In January, the Judicial Council ordered trial courts to comply, which was met with resounding protests by administrators with already stretched budgets faced with a variety of local policies relating to the transcription and transmission of these proceedings, or the outright suspension thereof. Negotiations began with CDCR to dissuade the prison system from requiring official transcripts and crafting statutory language that would delete their mandate.
Thereafter, the Judicial Council introduced new statutory language, which it inserted into the Public Safety Omnibus bill, SB428 (Strickland), changing the requirement to provide state prison plea and sentencing transcripts only in commitments of death, life, or life without possibility of parole cases, and honoring as-needed requests for specific cases. (Click here for the proposed language, at PDF page 34.) Their assertion, further, is that the statutory changes would not affect practices in individual trial courts and that this is a budget neutral issue.
COCRA reps, along with other stakeholder representatives, have been monitoring these efforts by the Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts and have consulted with them on this subject, along with our lobbyists, Broad & Gusman, and other union representatives from SEIU, AFSCME, and IFPTE.
The reporter’s transcript in state prison commitments:
- Guarantees the People’s future prosecution of re-offenders, providing proof of constitutional validity of a defendant’s prior conviction and commitment under the statutes related to enhanced sentences for prior convictions and specifically under the Three Strikes Law.
- Guarantees a defendant’s right that an accurate and verbatim record exists of his criminal commitment, which frequently extends beyond the notes retention requirements, for future verification, examination, and review.
- Preserves transparency into our court system through an accurate and detailed record occurring at the time of settlement, including the basis for plea bargains, stipulated sentences, and agreements related to sentencing agreements.
- Provides necessary information to the state prison system with regard to factors relating to details of the offense, propensity for violence, prisoner classification, and victim contact orders and visitation.
- Guarantees to the victims of crimes that their impact statements made under the Victims’ Bill of Rights will be heard, transmitted, honored, and memorialized for future parole hearings.
The first hearing on SB428 scheduled for Monday, May 9, was canceled at the request of the author; however, it is currently pending in the State Legislature.
Be assured your COCRA representatives continue to meet with Judicial Council/Administrative Office of the Courts representatives to represent and protect the interests of official reporters. We will keep you informed of its development.
In the meantime, let us know what the “policy” is in your court and how your local jurisdiction handles these matters. Please post your comments below.
Posted on May 3rd, 2011 by admin
Remembrance
Remembrance is a golden chain
Death tries to break, but all in vain.
To have, to love, and then to part
Is the greatest sorrow of one’s heart
The years may wipe out many things
But some they wipe out never.
Like memories of those happy times
When we were all together.
It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that COCRA regretfully informs our members that Kathy Helmkamp, founding President of the California Official Court Reporters Association, passed away Thursday, April 28, 2011.
Kathy was President of COCRA from 2000-2002, and she was a dedicated Official Court Reporter in the Los Angeles Superior Court for over 30 years. Kathy led COCRA through its formative years holding the office of President. She never failed to recognize everyone around her; and her gentle, though persistent, prodding of members to become active invigorated the organization.
Kathy was a natural leader, who gathered the disenfranchised official court reporters of California that lead to the establishment of the California Official Court Reporters Association in 2000. She selflessly gave of herself, personally and financially, to ensure that official court reporters could all be represented. At a time when her own professional status was threatened through intimidation, she persevered, knowing that not-so-subtle pressures would be brought to bear because she dared to speak out to protect the welfare of officials throughout the state.
Along with her efforts in promoting the profession of court reporting, Kathy was known as a fierce animal activist in the Los Angeles area. She was a member and active participant of many animal rescue organizations.
In light of Kathy’s tireless efforts on behalf of animals, Kathy’s family is asking that those who may wish to do so, make donations to Animal Rescue Volunteers or Valley Vet Non-Profit.
If you would like to donate to both organizations, please feel free to mail individual checks made to each organization in one envelope to:
Remember Kathy’s Fight
C/O Animal Rescue Volunteers
1464 Madera Rd #N350
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Kathy is survived by her husband Craig, her children Melissa and Jeff, and grandchild Isaiah.
Kathy gave so much of herself, and she was one of the most courageous people those who knew her have ever known. She was our hero, and we will deeply miss her.
Posted on March 4th, 2011 by admin
If you read the recent judiciary budget update penned by COCRA’s Legislative Advocate Shane Gusman last week, then you know that a compromise had been reached within the Budget Conference Committee in which $150 million would be shifted from the AOC’s critical needs and facility modification funds. Today COCRA has received a little more information on the compromise.
The first major bit of news on the compromise is it will result in $180 million being shifted from various AOC funds and a $20 million cut to the budget for the AOC, both the Supreme Court and the Appellate Courts, and subsidiary judicial centers.
SEIU, a union which represents many court employees, including court reporters, sent out a flyer today to its members detailing how the courts would absorb the governor’s proposed $200 million cut to the judicial budget.
The flyer had the breakdown of the coverage as follows:
$130 million from two primary construction accounts
$20 million from the facilities modification account
$10 million from the Court Case Management System (CCMS)
$20 million from the Judicial Efficiency and Modification Fund
$20 million cut to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal and Habeas Corpus Centers
Of course it goes without saying that this is all dependent on the passage of the governor’s proposed budget. We will, as usual, keep you informed on the latest news on the compromise.
Posted on March 2nd, 2011 by admin
Two legislators from the Southern California region have introduced separate bills that seek to spread electronic recording into more of California’s courts.
Assembly Member Donald P. Wagner (R) of Irvine introduced AB 803. The bill seeks to “implement electronic recording in 20% of all superior court courtrooms” as a minimum and provides for an additional 20% phase-in annually thereafter. The following text regarding the bill was taken from the legislative counsel’s digest.
AB 803, as introduced, Wagner. Electronic court reporting. Existing law authorizes a court to use electronic recording equipment in a limited civil case, a misdemeanor or infraction case, or for the internal purpose of monitoring judicial officer performance. Existing law requires a court to obtain advance approval from the Judicial Council prior to purchasing equipment. Existing law also requires each superior court to report semiannually to the Judicial Council, and the Judicial Council to report semiannually to the Legislature, regarding all purchases and leases of electronic recording equipment that will be used to record superior court proceedings.
This bill would instead require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2012, to implement electronic court reporting in 20% of all superior court courtrooms and to implement electronic reporting in at least an additional 20% of all superior court courtrooms, annually thereafter. This bill would also require the Judicial Council to report to the Governor and the Legislature on the efforts undertaken to implement electronic court reporting, as provided, by January 1, 2014. The provisions of the bill would not apply to felony cases.
You can read more about the bill by clicking here.
In addition to the bill above, Assemblywoman Diane Harkey (R) of Dana Point introduced AB 1096 that would, “require that all court proceedings be automated.” Very little explanation is provided regarding what this bill intends or what the assemblywoman means by “automated.”
The following is the entire text of the bill:
AB 1096, as introduced, Harkey.Courts: official reporters.
Existing law authorizes a superior court to appoint as many official reporters as are deemed required and prohibits a person from being appointed to that position unless he or she is licensed by the Court Reporters Board of California. Under existing law, a court may order, in specified cases, that the proceedings be electronically recorded if an official reporter is unavailable.
This bill would express the Legislature’s intent to require that all court proceedings be automated.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the reporting of proceedings in the courts to be automated.
The current status is that both bills are set for hearing in March. AB 803 may be heard in committee on March 20th, and AB 1096, on March 22nd.
COCRA’s legislative advocate, Shane Gusman of Broad & Gusman, Sacramento, is currently monitoring the situation and will be filing an official opposition to both bills. Mr. Gusman also had this to say about both bills:
“These bills seek to change what the Legislature has refused in the past. The Conference Committee from both houses is holding hearings now on the Judiciary, and electronic recording is not scheduled to be considered because it was rejected by the budget subcommittees in both houses as recently as last month and is not proposed by either legislative leadership or the governor.”
COCRA representatives will be providing the latest Preserving Access to Justice Task Force report to the legislators and will also continue to work with all parties involved in the fight to protect the court reporting profession, and more importantly, protect the public’s access to justice.
Posted on February 28th, 2011 by admin
COCRA’s Preserving Access to Justice Report authored by COCRA Past President Janice Scott has been updated for 2011. The new report includes most recent fails by electronic recording to maintain a complete and accurate record. You may download the newly revised report by clicking here.
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