States of Emergency Expired.

Many of us have wondered, how did the year go by so fast? How is it October already? Nevertheless, here we are, approaching the end of 2021. Courthouses have adopted a new normal, and more and more, we’re getting used to the way court business is now conducted. We have persevered in the face of many challenges, and working together, we have created different ways of doing things that benefit court staff and court users. The year 2020 was a frightful year, but 2021 has been a year of endurance and perseverance.
Be proud of the change you’ve created in 2021, and may 2022 bring you many positive things.

ALL COURT PROFESSIONALS.

Supreme Court of Georgia Chief Justice David E. Nahmias announced that Gov. Brian P. Kemp has allocated up to $110 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to address backlogs of court cases, particularly cases involving serious violent felonies. You can find the full press release HERE.

Please don’t forget to check out the latest issue of the Georgia Courts Journal. This and other issues are available HERE. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

BOARD OF COURT REPORTING.
Continuing Education.
The deadline to complete your Continuing Education requirements is December 31, 2021. Please don’t forget that you have 30 days after completing your CE course to upload all your documents to ensure that you receive proper credit. Failure to upload CE documentation within the prescribed 30 days will result in the denial of your CE credits. You can find more information on this requirement in the CE Manual, Part II, Section C, Subsection 1. Please contact our GCR team if you require assistance uploading your proof of CE.
Many of you might be considering retirement after rendering years of service to the citizens of the State of Georgia. We thank you for your service and wish you a happy retirement. Please remember that you must notify the Board of your decision to retire by completing the Inactive Status Form (HERE).

What’s Coming Up?

  • The National Court Reporters Association will host a Business Summit for firm owners and their leadership teams on November 19-21, 2021 in Savannah, GA. Please click HERE for more information or to register.
  • NCRA will also host a virtual Town Hall on January 8, 2022. Please visit the NCRA website for more information or to register.
  • OCP staff would like to wish those taking the NVRA tests on November 13-14 in Jacksonville, FL, and December 11-12 in Atlanta the best of luck!

In other news:
Learning Essentials About Professionalism (LEAP) took place on October 1 via Zoom with 43 newly-licensed Court Reporters in attendance. We received wonderful reviews from attendees and our presenters. LEAP wouldn’t be possible without the assistance of all those presenters who contribute their time to help newly-licensed court reporters learn more about the profession. We owe a special token of gratitude to AOC staff Bianca Bennett and Tiffanie Bacon, who organized the event.

Job Board

  • The Juvenile Court of Fulton County seeks to hire a court reporter. For more information about this job opportunity, please visit the Fulton County Government Careers page. (Link HERE)
  • The Cobb County State Court has an opening for a Court Reporter. Please click HERE for more information or to apply.

Please direct all questions related to these postings to the hiring courts or organizations listed on the postings.

Thank you for your service to the State of Georgia; please don’t forget to send us any news or accomplishments of your fellow Court Reporters to our GCR e-mail address. We’d also love to advertise any training, workshops, or seminars. Remember to keep us in the loop.

JUDICIAL COUNCIL STANDING COMMITTEE ON INTERPRETERS.

On June 18, the Supreme Court of Georgia ordered the creation of a Standing Committee on Court Interpreters under the umbrella of the Judicial Council of Georgia. This newly-formed Committee is now a successor to the Commission on Interpreters of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

The mission of the Committee will be consistent with the Supreme Court’s July 3, 2012, order amending the rules for the Use of Interpreters for Non-English Speaking Persons. Supreme Court Justice Carla Wong McMillian chairs this new Standing Committee, and it’s composed of judges of different classes of courts, representatives from the State Bar of Georgia, legislators, court interpreters, and a court administrator, some of whom will serve in a capacity of advisors. Our first meeting took place on September 14, and it served to intro duce all Committee members and to lay out a course of action for this Committee.

Staff is updating the former Commission’s website to reflect the new Committee’s name change and update the content. The new website will also include a list of the Standing Committee’s membership.

The Committee chair, Justice Carla Wong McMillian, has established a Rules Subcommittee, which will review our current rules and regulations and propose changes as needed. Staff will keep all interpreters and candidate interpreters abreast of any developments or changes to the existing rules that may impact them.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Big News!

The Office of Court Professionals is going back to in-person orientation workshops and in-person English Written Tests. Please find the dates on our Training & Testing Calendar (HERE). Please note that 2022 dates and events are subject to change.

A Bit of Trivia
As of October 29, there are 176 licensed interpreters in the State of Georgia. Out of these, 112 are Certified Interpreters, 55 are Conditionally-Approved, and 9 are Registered Interpreters. This list covers a total of 17 different languages. Many are told that if they are bilingual, they are automatically interpreters, but interpreters know this to be inaccurate. There is a great need for more licensed interpreters in Georgia, and we ask you to be a great example to the profession, and also one of its ambassadors. Please encourage others to become a certified or registered interpreter. We are here to assist you in achieving that goal.

What’s Happening?

  • Don’t forget to listen to a podcast that is focused on court interpreters! If you would like to hear essential in-formation regarding the profession, innovation, and topics about branding, please tune in to Subject to Interpretation, hosted by Georgia-Certified Court Interpreter and member of the Judicial Council Standing Committee on Interpreters, Maria Ceballos-Wallis.
  • The Atlanta Association of Interpreters and Translators (AAIT) will host an event on November 13 and 20, called “Legal Translation in Practice” Please click HERE for more information or to register.
  • The National Association of Judicial Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) is holding different events during November; please click HERE to access their full calendar, which now also includes more information about their 2022 Annual Conference. Lastly, don’t forget to visit their Resources page.
  • As a reminder, there are several different webinars offered by the American Translators Association (ATA). You can find a list of these events HERE.

Interpreter candidates will take the Oral Certification Exams beginning December 1-3. We wish them the best of luck!
For those looking forward to registering for the different oral certification exams in 2022, the test dates and deadlines to register are in our Training & Testing Calendar. Please feel free to contact our Testing and Event Manager, Tiffanie Bacon, with any questions.

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Thank you for your service to the State of Georgia; please don’t forget to send us any news or accomplishments of you or your fellow Court Interpreters to our GCR e-mail address. We’d also love to advertise any training, workshops, and seminars. Don’t forget to keep us in the loop.

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Contact us:
Georgia Courts Registrar.
404.463.3808
GCR@GeorgiaCourts.gov

For any questions or requests, please visit our CP Request page.
ocp.georgiacourts.gov