Inside the walls of justice, court reporters are the keepers of the court record for every kind of case: criminal, civil and municipal. In Louisiana, by law, court reporters are required to be licensed through the state Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters to make sure that the court record is accurate.

"Without the ability to review what happened in the district court, any conviction that occurs there would be dismissed," Loyola law professor Dane Ciolino.

But over the past year, a man who reported in at least three Orleans Parish Courts was working with a revoked license, according to a certified letter from the Board of Examiners.

Thomas Thibodeaux had his license revoked on October 5, 2007 for turning in duplicate continuing education courses to the board dating back to 2005. He has been on suspension since January of 2007 yet still responsible for the official records of numerous Orleans Parish courts.

“Here it may be simply a technicality that the court reporter didn't have a valid license at the time of the proceedings, and it very well may be treated like that. But that's not going to stop aggressive and creative criminal defense lawyers," said Ciolino.

With his license revoked, Thibodeaux has substituted for court reporters at the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court several times. The same goes for Municipal Court, and sources confirm he also worked on many cases at Civil Court.

“In the civil arena, it's a little easier to just go ahead and do it again." Ciolino said.

A Civil Court spokesman would only say "the court has just been made aware of the allegation and is currently looking into the matter. We will have no further comment at this time."

Juvenile Court Judge C. Hearn Taylor admits he should've checked Thibodeaux's license, and that "anything that affects the community out of Section B of Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, I feel directly responsible for. I will not put the blame on anyone but myself." He says the court does, however, record all proceedings for accuracy of the record.

The Criminal Court Judicial Administrator was out sick Friday and his chief deputy said it is possible Thibodeaux worked there as a substitute, but added that she was out of court in a meeting and she wasn't sure.

Thibodeaux is facing disciplinary action by the licensing board and, if convicted, could face a misdemeanor criminal charge, a fine and or 30 days in jail.