California Supreme Court orders electronic recording for indigent litigants
The California Supreme Court said Monday state trial courts lacking sufficient court reporters to staff courtrooms must provide electronic case recordings to civil litigants who can’t afford to hire their own stenographers. (Image from Shutterstock)
The California Supreme Court said Monday state trial courts lacking sufficient court reporters to staff courtrooms must provide electronic case recordings to civil litigants who can’t afford to hire their own stenographers.
Writing for the unanimous court, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero found that a state law that largely bars the use of electronic recording to make a record of civil proceedings has an implied exception for poor litigants.
“Where a litigant requests the creation of an official verbatim record and establishes an inability to pay for a private court reporter, a superior court has a duty to provide some way for the litigant to obtain an official verbatim record, including by electronic recording if an official reporter is unavailable,” Guerrero wrote in an Aug. 10 opinion. “It has no discretion to decline to do so.”
According to the Judicial Branch of California’s website, the state is facing a persistent shortage of court reporters.
To boost the number of court reporters, some courts have offered hiring bonuses and other incentives but still find that they can’t keep pace with retirements and a potentially higher pay in the private sector, according to a story by Law.com.
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