Budget cuts may cause North Carolina court reporters to be replaced by audio technology
Monday, June 17th, 2013If a court reporter isn't able to hear a speaker in court, or if a speaker interrupts someone, the reporter is required to ask those speaking to repeat what they said, court reporter Karen Morris has said. Now, more court reporters are speaking up when budget cuts in North Carolina would cut the the number of court reporters in half.
The North Carolina budget, which has been proposed by the state Senate and is currently going through the House would replace the number of state court reporters with audio recording technology. In response to this news, state court reporters, district attorneys and others involved with the court system are working to keep this from happening.
While this change would save money in the short run, "opponents are concerned about using electronic recording devices in the courtroom because transcripts can be riddled with inaccuracies," WRAL, a Raleigh news source, explained that "One transcript, for example, had 148 places where the sound was inaudible."
When this happens, as the news source explained, dispositions may not be "handled properly" and the integrity of the case may be compromised. Sometimes, defense attorney Mike Reece said, this means an entire new trial, taking away from the proposed cost savings this change is intended to produce.
While the budget proposals are still going through the legislative process, the opposition of many different parties is important to note. As attorneys explained to the news source, audio technology doesn't have the ability to record depositions in the same way as certified court reporters, and if this change results in additional trials and inaccurate transcripts, the cuts will not be worth it.