Out-of-State Reporter With a Old Conviction Seeks Michigan Certification
Dana has worked for 12 years as a freelance court reporter in Ohio and holds the RPR credential. She applies to the Michigan State Court Administrative Office for certification because she has accepted a conditional offer to report jury trials in Kent County Circuit Court beginning in 30 days. On her application she discloses a 2017 misdemeanor retail-fraud conviction; she completed probation in 2018 and has had no other criminal case. She also discloses that her Ohio reporter credential lapsed for eight months in 2021 while she was caring for a parent, though she continued taking assignments under a colleague's supervision. Dana asks whether her RPR credential lets her start work immediately in Michigan while the application is pending, and whether the old conviction and lapse automatically disqualify her. The court administrator wants to know what the board will examine and what the court should do about the start date.
1. Can Dana begin reporting Michigan court proceedings before SCAO certification? Explain.
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No. Michigan court reporting and recording credentials are state-based. A national RPR or an Ohio credential does not substitute for SCAO certification under MCR 8.108. The court should not assign Dana to create the official record until certification issues. Allowing an uncertified person to report would risk the validity of the record and could expose both the court and Dana to board review. The conditional offer should be moved to a start date after certification, or Dana should be assigned only non-record duties that do not require certification. Her national credential may support her application, but it does not authorize practice in a Michigan court.
2. What factors should the Board of Review weigh regarding the 2017 conviction and the 2021 lapse?
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The board looks at conduct and present fitness, not just labels. For the conviction, relevant factors include its nature and gravity, how long ago it occurred, completion of sentence and probation, evidence of rehabilitation, candor on the application, and whether there is a pattern. A single old misdemeanor with completed probation is not automatic disqualification; concealment or a recent pattern would be more serious. For the lapse, the board will consider duration, the reason, whether Dana continued to report without authorization, and whether she maintained her skills. The board may request court records, probation completion proof, Ohio credential records, and continuing education documentation, and may interview her. The central question is whether she is honest and currently fit to certify records.
3. If Dana starts work before certification and the court later learns of it, what are the likely consequences?
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The record could be challenged, and the court might need to reconstruct or redo proceedings. Dana could face denial, suspension, or decertification, and the board may treat unauthorized practice as evidence of disregard for certification requirements. The court administrator should document the staffing decision, remove Dana from record-making duties, and not rely on her transcripts. The outcome would depend on whether she acted knowingly, whether the court directed her, and whether any party was harmed. Prompt correction and candor would matter, but they would not cure the fact that an uncertified person made the official record.