Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one anticipated vacancy at the Erie County District Attorney's Office. 

Examples of Duties:

A Grand Jury Stenographer takes and transcribes all testimony heard by the Grand Jury utilizing a computer assisted transcribing system, proofing and finalization of transcripts, routing to appropriate bureau or local court office;

Takes and transcribes statements of witnesses and confessions of defendants in matters to be presented to the Grand Jury;

Prepares for the selection, induction and indoctrination of a new Grand Jury by the District Attorney;

Maintains Grand Jury records, transcripts and the results of Grand Jury action, as well as statements and line-ups;

Maintains a roster of full time reporters to cover all Grand Jury panels each month;

Keeps current with various bureaus as to status of cases requested by departments within District Attorney's Office, local courts and judges' requests;

Testifies on request, as to accuracy of transcripts in County and Supreme Court.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A.) Completion of an acceptable course in Court Reporting and two years of experience in general verbatim reporting using CAT (Computer Aided Transcription) equipment; or:

B.)  Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and three years of experience in general verbatim reporting using CAT (Computer Aided Transcription) equipment; or:

C.)  An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

Subjects of Examination:

Scopes / Subjects of examination*: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas.

Grammar/Usage/Punctuation
The grammar and usage questions test for the ability to apply the basic rules of grammar and usage. The punctuation questions test for a knowledge of the correct placement of punctuation marks in sentences. You will be presented with sets of four sentences from each of which you must choose the sentence that contains a grammatical, usage, or punctuation error.

Keyboarding practices
These questions test for a knowledge of preferred practices in such areas as letter format, capitalization, hyphenation, plurals, possessives, word division, word and figure style for numbers, and common proofreading marks. In addition, there will be a passage to proofread followed by questions on how to correct the errors in the passage.

Office practices
These questions test for a knowledge of generally agreed-upon practices governing the handling of situations which typists, stenographers, secretaries, and office assistants encounter in their work, as well as a knowledge of efficient and effective methods used to accomplish office tasks. The questions cover such topics as planning work flow; setting priorities; dealing effectively with staff, visitors, and callers; filing and retrieving information; safeguarding confidentiality; using office equipment; and making procedural decisions and recommendations which contribute to a well-managed office.

Spelling
These questions test for the ability to spell words that are used in written business communications.

Legal terminology, documents and forms
These questions test for the ability to recognize definitions of specific common legal terms or the term which fits a certain description. The questions are presented in various forms such as simple definitions, examples of terminology, and the use of this terminology within documents and forms related to the legal field.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

* NOTE: A performance exam testing stenography proficiency may also be required before appointment.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.