CSR Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An attorney at a deposition offers a court reporter a $200 gift card after a long day as a 'thank you.' What is the correct response?
- Accept it since it is a personal gesture, not a business arrangement
- Decline the gift to preserve impartiality and avoid any appearance of bias (Correct answer)
- Accept it but report it to your agency the following business day
- Accept only if the opposing counsel is present and does not object
Correct answer: Decline the gift to preserve impartiality and avoid any appearance of bias
Accepting gifts from parties or attorneys violates the court reporter's duty of impartiality and is prohibited under the NCRA Code of Professional Ethics.
Question 2: A court reporter discovers a material transcription error after the transcript has been certified and delivered. What must the reporter do?
- Issue an errata sheet and notify all parties of the correction (Correct answer)
- Leave the record as-is since the transcript is already certified
- Contact only the retaining attorney to quietly correct the error
- Destroy the original and issue a corrected version without notation
Correct answer: Issue an errata sheet and notify all parties of the correction
Upon discovering a material error post-certification, the reporter must issue an errata sheet and notify all parties to maintain the integrity of the record.
Question 3: During a videotaped deposition, the video operator is employed by the same firm as the court reporter. Which ethical issue does this raise?
- No issue exists because both work for the same neutral entity
- A potential conflict of interest since both vendors serve the same client interest (Correct answer)
- A prohibited arrangement because video and stenography cannot be combined
- A billing concern only, with no ethical dimension
Correct answer: A potential conflict of interest since both vendors serve the same client interest
When a court reporter and video operator come from the same firm hired by one party, it may create a conflict of interest that compromises neutrality.
Question 4: Under the NCRA Code of Professional Ethics, a court reporter is required to be impartial. This means the reporter must:
- Always sit equidistant between the witness and all counsel
- Refuse assignments involving attorneys they have worked with before
- Avoid having any financial or personal interest in the outcome of the proceeding (Correct answer)
- Decline any case involving a topic on which they hold a personal opinion
Correct answer: Avoid having any financial or personal interest in the outcome of the proceeding
Impartiality under the NCRA Code means having no financial, personal, or professional stake in the outcome of the matter being reported.
Question 5: A court reporter is subpoenaed to testify about the contents of a confidential deposition transcript in an unrelated proceeding. What should the reporter do first?
- Testify fully and completely as required by the subpoena
- Notify the parties to the original proceeding and consult with counsel (Correct answer)
- Refuse the subpoena entirely citing reporter privilege
- Provide only a copy of the transcript without oral testimony
Correct answer: Notify the parties to the original proceeding and consult with counsel
When subpoenaed regarding a confidential transcript, the reporter should first notify the original parties and seek legal guidance before disclosing protected information.
Question 6: A deposition participant asks the court reporter to go 'off the record' without consent from both attorneys. The reporter should:
- Honor the request since the participant may speak freely off the record
- Continue recording unless both counsel agree to go off the record (Correct answer)
- Stop only if the requesting party is the witness or a named party
- Go off the record and note the time in a separate log
Correct answer: Continue recording unless both counsel agree to go off the record
Going off the record requires consent from all counsel; a unilateral request from one participant is insufficient for the reporter to cease recording.
Question 7: Which practice best demonstrates a court reporter's commitment to professional competence under the NCRA ethics guidelines?
- Accepting every assignment regardless of subject matter or format type
- Completing continuing education and staying current with evolving technology and terminology (Correct answer)
- Delegating difficult technical testimony to a scopist without review
- Relying solely on dictionary software to verify specialized terminology
Correct answer: Completing continuing education and staying current with evolving technology and terminology
The NCRA Code requires reporters to maintain professional competence through ongoing education and adaptation to new technology and terminology.
CSR Professional Standards & Ethics 2
An attorney at a deposition offers a court reporter a $200 gift card after a long day as a 'thank you.' What is the correct response?