Press Release 1/1/2007
Todd Olivas & Associates a California-based court reporting firm, applauds its fellow court reporters Laron Johnson, Valerie Cathey and Linda Swanner -- three of the court reporters who worked on the Scott, Laci Peterson trial.
Newport Beach, CA (PRWEB) June 1, 2007 -- Scott Peterson was found guilty in the trial for the murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The trial produced over 23,000 pages of transcript. "The court reporters who made it all happen behind the scenes are to be applauded," says Todd Olivas of California court reporting agency, Todd Olivas & Associates, Inc.
"In this high-profile case," says Todd Olivas, a California court reporter himself, "the court reporters transcribed about 200 pages of text each day. That's a lot of pages. The stress and burden of managing such a task is extraordinary. My hats off to the three court reporters who did such a fine job representing not only their courtroom but the field of court reporting in general."
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"We are impartial, neutral and third party to everything. Our sole job is to produce a verbatim transcript in accordance with our duty as licensed certified shorthand reporters -- nothing else."
-Todd Olivas |
A court reporter is trained to take down dictation at speeds in excess of 200 words per minute. The court reporter must be able to accurately transcribe dictation within a high degree of accuracy. "I know when I or one of my court reporters is taking testimony down for depositions," says the court reporting agency owner, "we rely on years of court reporter training to be able to get all the testimony down on paper and produce a clean transcript. It's not easy, but California court reporters are the best of the best! I should know because I'm lucky enough to work with some of the best court reporters in California through my firm, Todd Olivas & Associates, a court reporting agency."
In a media-rich society, the court reporter's job expands beyond the court room. "The court reporters who worked on the Scott Peterson case also had to manage media relations. There's a story about how the lead court reporter received a call from a reporter for a national morning talk show and how the reporter wanted a transcript in advance of when the court reporter normally produced it. The court reporter told the media reporter 'Our duty is to the court, not to the media.'"
"That's the kind of mentality that a court reporter must have," says Olivas. "We are impartial, neutral and third party to everything. Our sole job is to produce a verbatim transcript in accordance with our duty as licensed certified shorthand reporters -- nothing else."
As a gesture of appreciation to the three court reporters who worked on the Scott, Laci trial, Todd Olivas has created a court reporting industry recognition award, the Todd Olivas Excellence In Court Reporting award. "There are so many untold tales of how court reporters are helping the legal process, that I thought it was my duty to create something that would shine a spotlight on excellent court reporters in our field. It is my privilege to award the Todd Olivas Excellence in Court Reporting award to Laron Johnson, Valerie Cathey and Linda Swanner."
About Todd Olivas & Associates, Inc.:
Todd Olivas & Associates - Court Reporting was founded in 2003 by Certified Shorthand Reporter, Todd Olivas, CSR #12237. Providing attorneys with court reporters, interpreters and videographers, the firm has gained an impeccable reputation throughout California. With a passion for court reporting and excellent customer service, the California court reporting firm hopes to continue to grow into other southwestern states and eventually nationwide by 2008.