Job Description

Expand your court experience or begin your career with the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Step outside the metropolitan area and experience an out-state career being exposed to a multi-faceted caseload, including criminal, civil, family, probate, juvenile, and conciliation cases. The Fifth Judicial District is seeking qualified applicants for a full-time Official Court Reporter to work with the Honorable Kristine Weeks, chambered in Blue Earth County, Mankato, MN.

The Fifth Judicial District is comprised of the 15 southwest counties in the State of Minnesota, including Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock and Watonwan counties.

This position involves primarily on-site work but may present occasional opportunities to work remotely, depending on business needs with travel throughout the district.

Applications will be reviewed regularly with interviews scheduled throughout the duration of this posting.

Court Reporters are responsible for capturing and preserving the official court record and to prepare and distribute transcripts in accordance with rules of court, opinions, state statutes, legal guidelines and policies. The court reporter exercises considerable independent judgment in all aspects of job performance. Work is reviewed and evaluated by the judicial officer.

Example of Duties

(any one position may not include all of the duties listed, nor do the examples cover all the duties which may be performed.)

• Capture and preserve a verbatim record of court proceedings.

• Plays/Read back testimony upon request.

• Transcribe, proofread, certify and distribute official transcripts and court orders in accordance with Rules of Court, opinions, State Statutes, legal guidelines and policies.

• Maintains accurate and complete files and records.

• Maintains current awareness of Rules, Statutes, and policy changes/additions/deletions.

• Serves as the judicial officer’s confidential assistant.

• Perform other court related and confidential duties as directed by the Judge.

Minimum Qualifications:

A person seeking employment with the Minnesota Judicial Branch for the position

of Official Electronic Court Reporter or Stenographic Court Reporter must meet the

corresponding qualifications for the position sought.

Education and Experience Requirements for both Stenographic and Electronic Court Reports:

• Graduation from high school or equivalent.

• Any combination of training and work experience which indicates possession of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Electronic Court Reporter Certification Requirements
Compliance with one of the following within 3 months of hire:

• Receive an Electronic Court Reporter certificate from the State Court Administrator; or

• Receive an Electronic Court Reporter Certification and an Electronic Transcriber Certification from the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT); or

• Receive an Electronic Court Reporter certification from an accredited court reporter school.

Stenographic Court Reporter Certification Requirements
Graduation from a court reporting school approved by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) within the past two years.

or

Compliance with one of the following:

• Received a Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) designation from the NCRA; or

• Received an equivalent certification from another state or territory of the United States, or professional court reporter association; or

• Have been practicing proficiently as a professional stenographic reporter for the past two (2) years and within one (1) month of hire, accurately take a minimum of 20 minutes of court proceedings alongside a stenographic court reporter who has an RPR designation or certification as provided in clauses (a) or (b) , and then produce a transcript with 95% accuracy as described in (d) below; or

• Obtain RPR designation from the NCRA within two years of hire. Pending receipt of the RPR designation, must, within one (1) month of hire, accurately take a minimum of 20 minutes of court proceedings alongside a stenographic court reporter who has an RPR designation or certification as provided in clauses (a) or (b), and then produce a transcript. The participating RPR certified stenographer will determine that Ninety-five (95) percent accuracy is achieved to successfully complete this requirement.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proficient in multiple computer hardware and software applications; interest in and ability to learn and use new and ever-evolving technology and computer programs.

• Ability to learn, interpret, retain and apply policies, procedures and statues, specifically relating to establishing the official court record.

• Ability to multitask and prioritize duties in a fast-paced, professional environment.

• Ability to enter clear, detailed log notes and court minutes regarding significant occurrences or do trial work with the potential of high-volume, complex transcript work.

• Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and professionally, both orally and in writing, with a diverse group of people.

• Team orientated with a positive attitude and excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships.

Supplemental Information:

Please complete your online application by clicking the “APPLY NOW” link at the bottom of this page. In addition to completing the online application, please upload a cover letter and resume.

This is a full-time (1.0 FTE) Teamsters represented position in the Official Court Reporter classification. This is an at-will position and is being posted for internal and external applications simultaneously pursuant to the terms of the Teamsters Court Reporter contract.

All Employment offers are contingent upon satisfactory results of a criminal background check. Please contact Human Resources at 1stdistrict.hr@courts.state.mn.us with questions regarding this position.