CER Certified Electronic Reporter study materials
CER Certified Electronic Reporter study resources

CER Certified Electronic Reporter case studies

CER Certified Electronic Reporter · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The Certified Electronic Reporter (CER) designation is issued by the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), an association that, in its own words, "provides education and certification for professionals engaged in digital reporting, transcribing, and associated roles." AAERT describes its certifications as recognized by many courts and businesses throughout the United States, with growing uptake in Canada and internationally, and it frames certification as evidence of continued dedication to and knowledge of the digital court reporting and transcription field. The CER is aimed at professionals who capture the record electronically rather than by stenotype - digital reporters, electronic court reporters, and transcribers moving into reporting work - as well as candidates entering the field who want a credential rather than only on-the-job training. The CER Certified Electronic Reporter case studies are 5 cases and about 3,907 words.

1

The Sidebar, the Clipped Channel, and the File Split

You are the electronic reporter for a two-day civil jury trial in a municipal courthouse. Your primary recorder is a six-channel unit: four ceiling microphones, one witness microphone, and one judge microphone, written to an internal SD card and mirrored to a USB drive.

779 words, about 4 min
2

The Sealed Session and Two Requests to Alter the Record

You are the electronic reporter for a contested custody hearing. Mid-morning the judge clears the courtroom and takes testimony from the child's therapist in a sealed session, ordering that the recording and any transcript be sealed.

797 words, about 4 min
3

The Unsworn Interpreter, Crosstalk, and a Juror's Note

You are the electronic reporter for a combined hearing in a county district court. One party appears pro se, speaks rapidly, and switches between English and Spanish mid-sentence.

762 words, about 4 min
4

The Freight Train, the Errata, and the Footnote Request

You are producing a 187-page deposition transcript from your own digital recording. The required format uses 25 numbered lines per page, a one-inch left margin, and a time stamp every 60 seconds.

773 words, about 4 min
5

Two Clocks, One Outage, and a Certified Timestamp Request

You serve as the electronic reporter for a hybrid hearing: three participants appear by video platform, two appear in the courtroom. The court's platform records the video conference.

796 words, about 4 min