01/19/2023
In January 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court's Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure introduced a proposed amendment to the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure. Specifically, the proposed amendment to Rule 74(B) states that "Recording through shorthand or stenography is prohibited."
Furthermore, the Indiana Supreme Court has also noted that: "The proposed amendment to Trial Rule 74 would require all courts (including city and town courts) to record hearings in all case types, prohibit recording through shorthand or stenography, and delete provisions covered in other rules or statutes.”
States that have already experimented with eliminating certified stenographic court reporters and have implemented recording systems have found that the result is frequent delays, increased costs, and equipment failures in their courtrooms. For instance, in November 2021, the Milwaukee County Court discovered that a record was never created during a bail hearing for Defendant Darrell Brooks because of a failure of audio recording equipment. Several days following the bail hearing, Brooks was released from jail and intentionally drove an SUV through a parade crowd where he killed 6 people and injured another 62 individuals. Afterward, when the court was asked to provide a verbatim account of the previous bail hearing that allowed Brooks to go free days before the tragedy, it was unable to due to a “technical malfunction” in the recording equipment. If the court system had relied on a certified shorthand reporter, rather than audio equipment in this instance, a verbatim record of the bail hearing would have been created and preserved in writing.
Aside from technical malfunctions, missing recordings, or inaudible recordings, digital recording systems also require constant maintenance and upgrades, resulting in more unanticipated expenses for the court system. Moreover, electronic recordings compromise the security of the official court record, as the individual transcribing the record may not be able to certify that the record is completely free from errors or tampering.
If you would .like to help, our association has set up a page to help with people advocating for steno to remain in the courtroom.
https://www.ncra.org/home/get-involved/advocacy/advocacy-action-center
