NVRA Study Guide - Legal Principles and
Terminology UPDATED Exam Questions
and CORRECT Answers
antitrust laws - CORRECT ANSWER- federal and state statutes to protect trade and
commerce from unlawful restrains, prior discriminations, price fixing, and monopolies
bench conference - CORRECT ANSWER- a conversation held by attorneys with a judge out
of the hearing of the jury, may also be called a sidebar
Certificate page - CORRECT ANSWER- The last page to appear within a transcript,
datedandsigned by the court reporter who took the matter, attesting that the manuscript is true
and accurate
Certified question - CORRECT ANSWER- a question extracted from a deposition and
transcribed by the reporter to be taken to a judge having jurisdiction in the matter for a ruling
Confidentiality - CORRECT ANSWER- Professional responsibility of reporter to not
disclose testimony to others; confidentiality extends to scopists, transcribers, and office staff
Elements of civil trial - CORRECT ANSWER- jury selection, opening statements,
examination of witnesses, physical evidence, plaintiff rests, motion for directed verdict,
defendants case-in-chief, defendant rests, plaintiff's rebuttal, defendant's surrebuttal, closing
arguments, jury instructions, jury deliberation and verdict, entry of judgement
Elements of criminal trial - CORRECT ANSWER- jury selection - opening statements -
plaintiff's case in chief - defendant's case in chief - prosecution rebuttal & defense surrebuttal
- closing arguments - jury instructions - jury deliberation & verdict - polling of jury
Elements of transcript - CORRECT ANSWER- title, index, stipulations, body, exhibits,
certificate
Errata page - CORRECT ANSWER- a page separate from the transcript upon which a
deponent is permitted to correct any errors he or she claims are present in a transcript
,Exhibit - CORRECT ANSWER- Material items of physical evidence introduced new
evidence, which are marked for identification so they can be discussed
Federal rule 30 - CORRECT ANSWER- a portion of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
which defines matters pertinent to the taking of depositions; many states pattern their rules
pertaining to depositions after this rule
Freelance reporter - CORRECT ANSWER- self-employed reporter or one who works for an
agency to report depositions and other proceedings as a subcontractor
Impartiality - CORRECT ANSWER- professional responsibility of reporter to be fair and
unbiased to each participant in a proceeding and to be alert to and disclose any potential
conflict of interest.
Interpreted proceedings - CORRECT ANSWER- proceedings in which a non-English-
speaking witness testifies through an interpreter following an oath administered to the
interpreter that he or she will truly interpret the testimony for the witness
Litigation support services - CORRECT ANSWER- extra services an individual reporter or
agency offers clients, including instant viewing, ASCII disk, keyword indexing, condensed
transcript, and print options
Oath - CORRECT ANSWER- A form of attestation by which a person calls upon his god to
witness truth of his testimony, called affirmation when all reference to god is omitted; also
referring to swearing the witness
Off the record - CORRECT ANSWER- during a deposition a discussion held by attorneys
which is not reported; requires the agreement of all attorneys present
Official reporter - CORRECT ANSWER- a reporter who works in a courtroom setting or
does reporting for governmental agencies
Parenthetical notation - CORRECT ANSWER- an expression or statement added to a
transcript by the reporter to explain non-verbal situations or movements which occur during a
proceeding
, Professionalism - CORRECT ANSWER- Having high standards in one's career, the ability to
work with great skill, and treating all persons in a fair, impartial, and unbiased manner
Protective order - CORRECT ANSWER- An order issued by a court to permit one party to
temporarily hold back certain documents or information, or to protect a person from
harassment or service of process, may also be used when interrogatories or requests for
production are oppressive or burdensome
Readback (noun); read back (verb) - CORRECT ANSWER- a reporter may be requested to
read back portions of testimony following an objection, when a question needs to be
rephrased, or following a brief recess in the proceedings
Reporter's worksheet - CORRECT ANSWER- A preprinted form that is f filled in at the time
of the proceeding or from the reporter's notes which incl uses date, time, and location of the
proceeding, appearances, exhibits, and witnesses, as well as any other information pertinent
for billing or contact, may also be called information sheet, poop sheet, dope sheet, dog sheet,
and control sheet
Rough draft transcript - CORRECT ANSWER- a transcript which is not fully edited and may
contain errors; does not include a title page, appearance page, or certificate page, but should
contain a disclaimer and header or footer stating that it is a rough draft
Style of the deposition - CORRECT ANSWER- the title or style of the case includes the
names of the parties, the venue of the matter, and the case number, may also be called the
caption or the heading
Voir dire - CORRECT ANSWER- Examination by attorneys of prospective jurors with regard
to qualifications, lack of prejudice, and general knowledge and understanding; at depositions
or at trial, examination by attorneys of an expert witness with regard to qualifications as an
expert
Witness setup - CORRECT ANSWER- the proper transcription of the name of a witness as it
appears within the transcript referring to the information that appears between the time that a
witness is called and when he or she begins testimony; includes the calling of a witness, the
oath if transcribed, his or her name keyed in spread heading format, and who the witness was
called for or whether he or she is the plaintiff or defendant, and may also include asking the
witness to state his or her name and address for the record
