Alameda County Lawyers

Archive for April, 2010

California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and state residents are looking for new career opportunities. They want jobs that are in high demand with long-term growth potential. There is good news for residents of California. Court reporters have more job opportunities than ever and a recent federal study backs this up.

California Court Reporters in Great Demand

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released the Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009, a comprehensive study of job trends throughout the nation. The OOH predicts that the number of jobs will increase by 25% over the next several years. This trend is driven by an increase in the number of court cases but also by new federal regulations requiring more closed captioning to allow equal access to deaf and hard of hearing citizens.

California court reporters are employed in a variety of settings other than the court room. Private businesses often use court reporters to create official transcripts of functions such as conferences or labor negotiations.

As mentioned, the biggest trend in court reporting has been the increased demand for real-time captioning of television and web broadcasts. For decades, closed captioning has kept a large percentage of California court reporters employed. The increased demand for real-time rather than pre-recorded captioning has created new opportunities in the profession.

Demand Up but Graduation Down

Even as the number of jobs for California court reporters increases, the number of students entering the field has been dropping. There are many reasons for this decline but the two leading causes appear to be a misunderstanding of a role of a certified court reporter, and the mistaken belief that technology will spell the end of the profession.

California court reporters are often seen as low-level clerical workers when in fact they are well-respected legal professionals. They are well trained in legal procedures and have extensive knowledge of the jargon of many technical fields. According to a 2006 survey by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), reporters employed by court systems have an average income of over $72,000 per year.

Advances in recording and speech recognition technology have never endangered the careers of California court reporters. These new tools make their jobs easier, but nothing will ever replace the trained ear of a professional witness and record keeper.

A Demanding And Rewarding Field

California court reporters must complete a rigorous training program before they can complete certification and work in the field. The curriculum is very demanding and has a high dropout rate. For the reporters who complete the program, a long career as a highly paid and esteemed professional is waiting.

The current shortage of reporters effectively guarantees employment for new graduates. The NCRA and other organizations continue to promote the court reporting profession, educating new students in the exciting and lucrative career that could be theirs.

ACLU Opposing Injunction Against Oakland Gang OAKLAND, Calif. — The legal equivalent of gang warfare could break out in two weeks when the American Civil Liberties Union and a civil rights group oppose the city of Oakland’s bid for an injunction against a street gang it says is notorious for drug sales and violence. Read more on FOX 11 Reno

Legal moves, talks underway on housing suit Lawyers for Napa County will ask a judge this month to toss outportions of a lawsuit filed by Santa Rosa lawyer and affordablehousing advocate David Grabill. Read more on Napa Valley Register

House District 76: Candidates’ goals, platforms similar EL PASO — State Rep. Norma Chávez and Assistant County Attorney Naomi Gonzalez grew up less than three miles apart. Read more on El Paso Times

Affordable housing at heart of suit against county Lawyers for Napa County will ask a judge this month to toss out portions of a lawsuit filed by Santa Rosa lawyer and affordable housing advocate David Grabill. Read more on The Weekly Calistogan

Criminal records consists of all the crimes that person has committed in his or hers lifetime. If the person has been persecuted for these crimes you can find all about it in court cases. Today you can easily find court cases thanks to the development of technology and internet. I remember the days when you wanted to view criminal records, you had to go down to the police station or a court house and fill all sorts of forms in order to get it. It was more than frustrating and hard work because you had to deal with a lot of paperwork and waiting. You had to wait certain criminal record for days until you obtain it.

But this is not the case anymore because government figured out that all this slow service is costing them money so they decided to move all the records to the internet and store them in online databases. California was one of the states that did it first. Thanks to the internet you don’t have to go to the courthouse or a police station to get a single criminal record. All that you need to do is to get online access sites that provide access to online databases and type in some personal information about the person you wish to check, and that’s it. Fast and simple. Did I mention that is also free? Yes, there are many sites that will allow you to check records for free but some have monthly fees that you need to pay first. If you don’t trust websites, well you can hire one of many detective agencies in California to find court cases for you, but just make sure that you can afford it.