Rules About Holding Notes vs. Transcribing Them In New York
Recently the question came up: In New York, what are the rules regarding freelance reporter's notes retention?
First of all, there is no mandatory licensure required to be a freelance court reporter in New York. So it makes sense that there is no law governing the holding of notes versus having to transcibe them. In fact, the New York Court Reporters Association's website has this about note retention:
What are the note retention regulations for freelancers in New York State?
The national standard, according to the NCRA’s Code of Professional Ethics, when a state rule does not exist, states the following:
Preserve the shorthand notes in accordance with statute or court order, or otherwise for a period of no less than five (5) years through storage of the original paper notes or an electronic copy of either the shorthand notes or the English transcript of the notes on computer disks or optical or laser disk systems.
So from that wording, my understanding is that there is no specific New York rule in existence about notes so we defer to the NCRA's guide of holding them for five years.
Anybody got any feedback?
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
