Replacing Stenographic Court Reporters Could be a Digital Disaster

Lisette Livingston |

Even the advent of modern technology has its pitfalls as states rush to resolve budgetary concerns by suggesting technology replace human manpower.

Take for instance a press conference held recently where Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California pointed to a number of missed opportunities that could have saved the troubled state $2.8 billion annually. Included in this list was the wholesale removal of stenographic court

reporters from the states courts in favor of electronic recording. This would, the governor suggested, result in $100 million of annual savings.

As is so often the case when states begin searching arbitrarily for areas to cut the budget, Gov. Schwarzenegger is short on the facts when it comes to the cost savings of replacing stenographic court reporters. More important than even its budget, California hardly can afford as no state can to begin taking action that could compromise the integrity of its judicial process and, ultimately, the states criminal justice system.

While court reporters do not in any way concede that electronic recording would result in costs savings for California or any state, utterly absurd is the governors implication that it presents a viable technological alternative to stenographic court reporters. Court reporters recognize

and acknowledge that using the latest technology for capturing the court record is critical, and thats why weve been the leaders in that regard for decades, said NCRA President Melanie Humphrey-Sonntag, a court reporter and firm owner from Chicago in a statement. That is why we bring 21st-Century technology into the courtroom and depositions that can and does create real time feeds of legal proceedings, whichamong other thingsmakes these proceedings

accessible to those who are deaf or who are hard of hearing, she said.

What happens when states begin looking for places to cut budgets, according to Sonntag, is that they love to look for places where technology can replace perceived antiquated processes and bring windfall-type savings. While its a nice 10-second sound bite for a governor, she adds, it doesnt, in this case, square with reality. The truth is that if courts are looking for the most

advanced technology for capturing the court record, they must look to stenographic court

reporters. If courts are looking to lower their costs, the truth is they need to look to the court reporters as a resource, who generally pay for their own equipment and continuing education, and who, as experts on making the court record, themselves can point to efficiencies the courts might consider to reduce costs, Sonntag says.

What states dont consider is that there is a substantial cost to installing digital audio equipment. What states dont consider is that you need technical expertise within the court system that does not now exist to service the digital audio recording systems and maintain them. What states

dont consider is that they need to pay people to turn the audio system on and off. Most importantly, what states dont consider is that, at some point, people are going to want transcripts of the court proceedings, which is another hidden cost that states often dont think about. Thats where digital audio can fail miserably and a court reporter will protect the integrity of the court record every time, she states.

What a court reporter can do that a digital audio system cant is halt the proceedings when two people are talking at the same time, said Sonntag. When two voices are indistinguishable and that happens a lot a stenographic court reporter wont miss a beat, but someone transcribing

digital audio will be totally lost. When papers are shuffled near a microphone or a microphone malfunctions and how many times have you seen that happen yourself that is a total disaster for digital audio.

I can appreciate Governor Schwarzeneggers plight, said Sonntag, hes got to find ways to cut the states deficit. But the cost savings of using digital audio are inflated. Theyre not considering all the costs of digital audio. In fact, theres no proof that digital audio saves any money at all, she maintains.

In the meantime, California would be chasing phantom savings and, in the process, severely compromise the integrity of its judicial system and access to the system by its citizens. In his own words, Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to usher in a golden new era of prosperity in California. Thats what court reporters want as well. I hope he gives the states court reporters

a role in the processan opportunity to work on that with the courts and legislators together, Sonntag adds.

Ultimately, technology should serve humankind as opposed to people serving technology. As technology increasingly becomes a part of our everyday lives, we shouldnt forget why its there. Its to compliment our lives and not to overly complicate it. Nor should it compromise

systems such as the legal process, where integrity of its judicial system and access to it, should be still be far more important.

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