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Complaint review committee recommends reprimand and $500 penalty for court reporter Olivia Mata
Summary
The committee recommended a reprimand and a $500 administrative penalty for court reporter Olivia Mata after finding she reported while her certification was not active; the committee will forward the recommendation to the Judicial Branch Certification Commission.
The Complaint Review Committee of the Judicial Branch Certification Commission recommended a reprimand and a $500 administrative penalty for court reporter Olivia Mata in Cause No. 0781, finding violations of Texas Government Code §154.101(b)(1) and §154.101(e).
The complaint, filed Dec. 9, 2024, was brought by Alan Robertson, who told the committee he could not print the record he received and that exhibits and formatting from the reporting firm were missing. Robertson said subsequent information showed the source of the accessibility problems was the court reporting firm, not the individual reporter: "the genesis of these complaints is the fault of the court reporting firm, not the individual reporter," he told the committee.
The committee discussed Mata's answer, in which she said she believed she had a renewal window and that she thought her certification was active when she reported the deposition. Committee members asserted there is no renewal "grace period" or 90‑day window; one committee member said, "I've been certified since 1998, and we've never had a window." The committee concluded Mata reported while her certification was not valid and found violations of the cited Texas Government Code provisions.
Committee members recommended a reprimand and an administrative penalty of $500, with payment due within six months after the date of the final order. The committee's recommendation will be forwarded to the Judicial Branch Certification Commission (JVCC) for final action; the complainant, Alan Robertson, was told he will receive notice about the commission's next steps and may participate further in the process.
The committee chair opened the matter for discussion after confirming the complainant's presence and read the staff summary of the file. Staff members present included Amy Smith and Vina Mohan; Melinda Saucedo was identified in the meeting as the commission's compliance manager. The committee emphasized that the sanction addresses the reporter's act of reporting while uncertified rather than the formatting and access problems that arose from the reporting firm's processing of the transcript.
The committee's recommendation as described above will be included in the packet the JVCC considers at its next meeting.
