CRI Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A court reporter discovers mid-deposition that the witness is a close personal friend. What is the most ethically appropriate action?
- Continue without disclosure since friendship does not affect accuracy
- Disclose the relationship to all parties and offer to withdraw (Correct answer)
- Complete the deposition and omit the relationship from the transcript
- Ask only the retaining attorney whether to continue
Correct answer: Disclose the relationship to all parties and offer to withdraw
Reporters must disclose any relationship that could create an appearance of partiality and allow parties to decide whether to proceed.
Question 2: Which principle underlies the prohibition against a court reporter having a financial interest in the outcome of a case?
- Conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Confidentiality
- Competence
- Punctuality
Correct answer: Conflict of interest
A financial interest in case outcome creates a conflict of interest that compromises the reporter's neutrality.
Question 3: An NCRA member is asked to provide a 'rough draft' transcript with a notation that it is unedited. Under NCRA ethics, this is:
- Prohibited under all circumstances
- Permissible as long as it is clearly labeled as a rough draft (Correct answer)
- Permissible only with written consent from the judge
- Prohibited because drafts must never leave the reporter's possession
Correct answer: Permissible as long as it is clearly labeled as a rough draft
Rough drafts are permissible when clearly labeled to prevent misuse of uncertified text.
Question 4: A CRI candidate instructor discovers that a student has plagiarized a homework assignment. The best course of action is to:
- Ignore it to avoid conflict with the student
- Handle it privately with the student and assign a zero without documentation
- Follow the institution's academic integrity policy and document the incident (Correct answer)
- Report it only if the student is planning to sit for a certification exam soon
Correct answer: Follow the institution's academic integrity policy and document the incident
Instructors must uphold academic integrity by following institutional policy and creating a documented record.
Question 5: When a court reporter certifies a transcript, that certification attests to:
- The truth of the testimony given
- The accuracy of the transcription of the proceedings (Correct answer)
- The credibility of all witnesses
- Approval by all attorneys of record
Correct answer: The accuracy of the transcription of the proceedings
Certification attests only to the accuracy of the transcription, not to the truthfulness of the testimony.
Question 6: A reporter is pressured by a hiring agency to consistently charge below the minimum fee schedule. Ethically, the reporter should:
- Comply to secure steady work
- Refuse arrangements that require violating professional fee guidelines (Correct answer)
- Accept but secretly bill clients the full rate
- Report the agency to local law enforcement
Correct answer: Refuse arrangements that require violating professional fee guidelines
Complying with improper fee arrangements can constitute an ethical violation and harm the profession's integrity.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'impartiality' as applied to court reporters?
- Treating all parties with equal rudeness
- Providing identical services to all parties without favoring any side (Correct answer)
- Charging all parties the same rates regardless of transcript length
- Refusing to testify about the proceedings under any circumstances
Correct answer: Providing identical services to all parties without favoring any side
Impartiality requires providing equal, unbiased service to all parties involved in the proceeding.
CRI Professional Standards & Ethics 2
A court reporter discovers mid-deposition that the witness is a close personal friend.
What is the most ethically appropriate action?