Federal Judiciary's Court Reporting System

Many court reporters are taking advantage of the present system for recording and transcribing Federal district court proceedings by overcharging litigants for transcripts; operating private businesses out of space provided by Federal courts; and using substitutes rather than personally providing the services for which they were hired. The system is costly to both the courts and litigants and is permeated with inefficiency and inequities. GAO believes that the method of electronic recording should be established in lieu of court reporters' activities as the predominate method of recording district court proceedings. This system has benefits in terms of accuracy and timeliness of recording and transcribing court proceedings. Additionally, about $13.6 million annually could be saved once electronic systems are fully installed, and the system would eliminate the questionable activities that are presently occurring among Federal court reporters. Before the Federal Judiciary can use electronic recording systems exclusively, however, Congress must amend the Court Reporter Act to permit Federal district court proceedings to be recorded by electronic equipment without the presence of a court reporter. However, until the Act is amended and court reporters are phased out, the Judiciary needs to better manage its court reporters; an important step toward accomplishing this would be to establish a central management authority in each district court to supervise and monitor the district's reporters.