Judges Defend Court Reporters

5-5-11

On April 26, coincidentally (or not) on the day of the ER AB 803 hearing, the Sacramento Bee and Fresno Bee published an editorial entitled Court Reporters Monopoly Must Come to an End. The article cited many erroneous facts and figures and touted the court reporters powerful lobby as an issue. Click here for full article.

On Sunday, May 1, the Sacramento Bee ran a rebuttal editorial article written by Sacramento Presiding Judge Steve White entitled Another View: In Real Life, Court Reporters Count. Honorable White corrected many of the erroneous facts and figures and explained why court reporters are such an integral part of Californias judicial system from the judicial point of view. The Bee's call to eliminate court reporters sounds good until you ask someone familiar with real life trials. Just ask people who try the cases. Virtually every judge, district attorney, or defendants' counsel will tell you court reporters are essential to ensuring an adequate trial record. Click here for full article.

Today, the Fresno Bee published a rebuttal article from Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kent Hamlin, which stated in part,
To suggest that its time to end the debate and make the switch to digital recording is nave at best.. A reader might conclude from the editorial that courts, bullied by the court reporters union, have rejected any attempts to implement available technology. In fact, nearly all courts in California use digital recording to some degree.
Click here for full article.

CCRA applauds Judge White and Judge Hamlin for their support of the court reporting profession. In appreciation of their support, CCRA is asking you to send thank you notes to both judges, thanking them for taking a stand. Please take a moment to send off a quick thank you note to the addresses listed below so they will receive notes from all over the state. Let them know how much we appreciate their willingness to step out and help STOP THIS MADNESS!

Honorable Kent Hamlin
1100 Van Ness, Dept. 73
Fresno, CA 93724-0002

Honorable Steve White
720 9th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814