Court Reporters In Enid, Oklahoma

Even if the Seattle Sonics relocate to Oklahoma, it can't be all that bad as obviously the judicial court system is blessed to have such a team of talented court reporters. Oklahoma and in particular Enid seems to be a wonderful place for blossoming court reporters to look for a welcome reception after graduation from court reporting school.

~ The Beagle

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The Enid [Oklahoma] News & EaglePublished: April 07, 2008

Court reporting more complex than it may appearBy Cass Rains, Staff Writer

A court reporter’s job isn’t as easy as you’d think.The five women serving the nine-county Fourth Judicial District can attest to the skills and qualities required to be a record keeper for the courts.

The women serving Alfalfa, Blaine, Dewey, Garfield, Grant, Kingfisher, Major, Woods, and Woodward County as court reporters are specially trained and certified for the duties they perform for the court.“During my time as a court reporter, we have come up against people all the time who think all we do is sit there and that it’s a piece of cake,” said Debra Vogt. “They think they can hire someone to run a recorder and do what we do —except a recorder doesn’t know when it doesn’t understand or hear something.”

Reporters are responsible for their recordings and records they create and must keep records from criminal courts for 10 years, and those from divorces for 20 years. Reporters are also responsible for each exhibit entered into evidence during a trial, which are kept in secure storage.“Our records are very important and we take our jobs very seriously, so it’s hard to bear those people who think it’s an unnecessary position,” Vogt said.

Reporters must be able to type a minimum of 200 words per minute. Using a 24-key stenograph machine, reporters take down comments and testimonies phonetically, using combinations of letters to make different sounds.“To be an effective court reporter, you have to be detail oriented and possess excellent concentration skills,” Vogt said. “You must also demonstrate a high degree of accuracy in your work. Good listening skills are essential to be a successful court reporter.”

A typical day of a hearing can result in 200 to 250 pages of written text, but between 20 to 40 percent of cases reporters cover are transcribed.Each court reporter must purchase their equipment, stenograph machines, software and paper. A new court reporter spends at least $12,000 for equipment and software.“We do buy our own equipment and it’s basically up to us to keep up with the technology,” Kelly O’Rourke said.

“Twenty-five years ago we used to dictate and use typists that typed an original and two copies using carbon paper,” Melissa Atkinson said. “Court reporters do real-time now, which is unedited translation done ‘on the fly’ or ‘writing naked.’ The live captioning you see on TV is done by court reporters.”Vogt said captioning of live television programs is done by specially trained court reporters called “broadcast captioners.”

“Federal rules require captioning of hundreds of hours of live programming each week, creating a surge in career opportunities for people with the right skills, she said.Americans with Disabilities Act requirements necessitate Communication Access Realtime Translation, or one-on-one captioning, as an aid to deaf or hard-of hearing individuals, Malatin said.

“Realtime reporters can also provide closed captioning for television programming,” she said.Oklahoma court reporters are required to be certified and most in Garfield County have obtained further certifications.

“Court reporters must be certified by the state, and in addition we all strive for and have obtained higher certification,” said Malatin.“We are required to have continuing education hours every year to maintain our certification.”Each reporter in the district is assigned to a specific judge; however, reporters can report for other judges, if needed.

The majority of Garfield County court reporters recall the changes in technologies used in their field.“When I first started working here, everyone had an IBM Selectric typewriter and absolutely no computers,” O’Rourke said. “I used a manual stenograph machine and would dictate my notes to a typist or type them myself with carbon paper.“Now I use a paperless machine, thousands of pages of notes are stored on one memory card and I have a wireless system that translates my raw steno notes from the courtroom to my computer in my office, instantaneously.”

O’Rourke said the methods of records storage have also changed.“Even sound files are stored digitally now, instead of on cassette tape, and transcripts can be e-mailed instead of mailed to attorneys out of town.”Malatin said she, too, has seen court reporting move toward a paperless process. “Now, all stenograph machines are computerized and the newest models no longer use paper,” she said.

The youngest Garfield County court reporter, Kristin O’Reilly, said she’s feels fortunate for the advances in technology.“I’ve been informed of how things were in the ‘old days’ and I feel fortunate to be working with today’s technology,” she said.Changes to court reporting are not limited to technology.

Atkinson said she’s seen changes in the Garfield County Courthouse in her 25 years as a court reporter, including the addition of online court filings and records.“We have added two full-time court reporting positions and one additional judge,” she said. “Back in 1983, the special district judge had a per diem reporter and we only had one special judge. The case load has increased dramatically since 25 years ago.”Atkinson added, “I think there is going to be a time when we have to electronically file our transcripts.”Vogt said there are worldwide opportunities for court reporters.“

A career as a court reporter is exciting and rewarding,” Vogt said. “There are excellent job opportunities anywhere in the world.”Melissa Atkinson“I liked shorthand in high school and also liked punching the keys on the cash register at Wendy’s, where I worked,” she said. “A representative from Brown Mackie College in Salina, Kan., came to my house and showed me notes from a court reporter.“To me, they just looked like a bunch of gibberish with letters that were all over the place.”Atkinson said she considered a career in law, but ended up in a position within the courts.“I also liked the idea of law but didn’t want to become a lawyer,” she said, “so I gave court reporting a try and fell in love.”

In May, Atkinson will have worked at the Garfield County Courthouse for 25 years.Atkinson said one of the more memorable cases she covered was a robbery and shooting with intent to kill trial of Shawn Detwiler and Chris Baldwin.“They were not pleased when the guilty verdict was read,” she said. “I just remember momma Baldwin yelling ‘Don’t hurt my baby,’ as they were wrestling around a bit with Chris.”

Atkinson also recalled a case early in her career when a defendant was less than cooperative with the court.“About two weeks after I first started working with James Bryant, my judge, Robert Lewis Stephenson was brought before the judge,” she said.

“As I was setting up my equipment, Mr. Stephenson was saying all sorts of off-the-wall comments to me and the prosecutor, John Proctor.“I remember John approaching me and saying, ‘Missy, I don’t think he likes us very much.’ Well, after Judge Bryant entered the courtroom and as the judge was telling Mr. Stephenson his charges, Mr. Stephenson just went off on Judge Bryant, verbally abused him down one side and up the other.”

She added: “Judge Bryant found him in direct contempt of court three times before he was forcibly removed from the courtroom. Judge Bryant liked to play the audio tape from that hearing for classes he taught.”

Atkinson was appointed to serve a five-year term on the Certified Shorthand Reporters Board, from 1997-2002, and in late 2007, was appointed again to fulfill an un-expired term until 2009.“I was talked into that by fellow CSR Board member Beth Malatin,” Atkinson said.

In the early 1990s, she served as the secretary/treasurer, vice-president, president and past-president for the Oklahoma Court Reporters Association Board. She passed her Certified Realtime Reporter exam in 1996.Originally from Maize, Kan., Atkinson is married to Lance Atkinson, and together the couple help the United Way achieve its goals.“I feel very lucky to be able to work with the judges, bailiffs, reporters and court clerks here in this courthouse,” she said.

“The reporters with whom I work are some of the most talented, sweet and pleasant ladies anyone could hope to have as co-workers.”

Beth Malatin,“I had gone to court reporting school in Kansas with Melissa Atkinson and Lori Woods,” she said. “They were employed here and called me when there was an opening.“I had never been to Enid but I came for an interview or two, met the judges, liked Enid, was offered the position and have been here ever since.”Malatin has been a court reporter in Garfield County for 24 years and works in Garfield, Kingfisher, Grant and Blaine Counties, covering small claims, divorce, criminal cases, mental health and medical malpractice hearings.Malatin is married, has two daughters and is active in her church.She said she has served on the boards for court reporting organizations, schools, church groups and local organizations.“Court reporting incorporates a lot of areas,” Malatin said. “There are officials who are employed by the state, freelance reporters who take depositions, meetings, school board hearings, et cetera.”

Kristin O’Reilly,“I became interested in court reporting while still in high school,” O’Reilly said. “One of my teachers made a comment about his brother-in-law being a court reporter in Texas and making a lot of money. That caught my attention.“Shortly after that I was in my mom’s office (who works for an attorney) highlighting portions of a transcript for her and asked who had prepared it.“When I found out a court reporter had done it, I remembered they made a lot of money. Needless to say it wasn’t as easy as it sounded or looked but I do enjoy it.”After graduation, O’Reilly took an open position at the Garfield County Courthouse.“After graduating from court reporting school, I moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,” she said. “There are no certification requirements in Florida, as there are here. Several girls I had gone to school with were going down there until they passed the certification test in Oklahoma, so I went, as well.“I lived there for eight months and while there I passed the Oklahoma CSR. I spent the summer of 2004 doing freelance work in the Oklahoma City area until I was hired here in Enid.”“I’ve been working for Judge Norman Grey for three and a half years,” she said. “I have also been traveling to Grant County to work for Judge Jack Hammontree during most of that time.”One of O’Reilly’s most memorable cases was one involving the investigation of a call-girl service in Florida.“The state attorney’s office was investigating a call-girl service and interviewing women who had worked there, past and present,” she said.“I was doing freelance work with a firm that employed several reporters and I think we all got to take a record on at least one if not more of the women that were questioned.“They had some interesting things to talk about.”Originally from South Dakota, O’Reilly attended high school in Altus.She is a member of St. Francis Xavier Church and has volunteered time working with children through the Garfield County Juvenile Office.

Kelly O’Rourke“After four years of college as a pre-law major, I decided being an attorney was probably not for me,” O’Rourke said. “I was still fascinated with the legal field, though, so I decided to check out court reporting after an attorney I worked with told me about her stepdaughter who was a court reporter.“I enrolled in the Tulsa School of Court Reporting that fall and one and a half years later was certified through the state of Oklahoma.”After school, O’Rourke returned to Enid.“I was fortunate enough to land my first job as an official right here in my hometown of Enid,” O’Rourke said. “I am still the only official court reporter that is originally from Enid.”She said about 95 percent of her work is done on criminal cases, and she may hear five to six preliminary hearings, ranging from robbery to rape to assault and battery, in a day. O’Rourke said she also reports on juvenile cases and divorce proceedings.“I have sat in on hundreds of very interesting cases, but the one that sticks out the most in my mind was a wrongful death case I did back in 1993, involving the manufacturer of a garden/lawn tractor,” O’Rourke said.“It was a three-week-long jury trial where the family of a man who was killed on a tractor that rolled over on him was suing the company who designed and manufactured the tractor,” she said. “The family was awarded millions of dollars by the jury.”Despite a language barrier, O’Rourke was still able to perform her job with the assistance of a translator.“Most of the witnesses were Japanese engineers from the tractor company who spoke little to no English,” O’Rourke said. “Their highly complex and technological testimony was handled through a translator. It’s always very challenging to work with a translator, although this lady was the best translator I have ever worked with.”However, the case and O’Rourke’s work were not done after the verdict was read.“The verdict was appealed and I transcribed the entire jury trial,” she said. “It was the largest transcript I have done to date and was more than 3,000 pages long.”O’Rourke said the spontaneity of her work the variety of cases she hears keeps her work enjoyable.“I really enjoy what I do because I never know what I’m going to be hearing from day to day,” she said. “Some days are very interesting, some not so interesting, but each day I will hear something completely different than I heard the day before, so it’s definitely varied.“Sometimes the courtroom can be quite humorous and it’s often hard not to laugh out loud at some of the things people say,” she said. “On the flip side of that, sometimes when I’m reporting a highly sad or emotional hearing it’s hard not to cry.“We really have to be very careful not to show any emotion when we are on that type of a case.”O’Rourke is married to Capt. Brian O’Rourke of the Enid Police Department, and has a daughter, Jaime, who is 11.O’Rourke was born and raised in Enid and her parents built Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home, which her father Dean Ladusau still runs today.In her spare time, O’Rourke said she enjoys working out, reading, watching movies and spending time with her husband and daughter.“When Brian and I have a rare day off together, we try to get to a casino and try our luck,” she said.

Debra VogtVogt attended court reporting school in Texas in 1987 and was hired in Garfield County after being certified as a court reporter in Oklahoma in 2006.“I’ve been in Garfield County three years to fill Judge John Michael’s court reporter position,” Vogt said. “For six months I worked with Judge Michael then he opted to retire. I then had the privilege of working with Judge Dick Pickens while he filled the judge’s bench until the governor appointed Dennis Hladik as judge.“Talk about working with the greatest of all greats.” Vogt said her time in Dallas as a freelance reporter for several years gave her a chance for some “exciting times.”“During that time, I had the opportunity to work in many places and with many attorneys and with people of all walks of life,” she said.“I recall one of my most memorable times, I traveled with an attorney to New Orleans to take the deposition of a gymnastics coach who was testifying as an expert regarding an accident of a gymnast who had received a severe neck injury during Olympic training,” Vogt said. “We took his deposition and then he took us to a Bayou crawfish eatery. It was just one of the exciting times I had.”Vogt attends World Harvest Church, where she is a Girl’s Ministry teacher, which is part of the Missionettes program, and teaches first through fifth graders. Vogt is also on the outreach serve team of World Harvest Church.“I left my family in Texas when I took this job but have never felt alone,” Vogt said. “My co-reporters and other co-workers are the best I’ve ever known. The attorneys and their staff are exceptional, also.“My church family is more than I’ve ever known, as well.”In her spare time, Vogt is learning to play golf and has been hired out as a private chef.“Enid’s got it all when it comes to people.”