State courts in Santa Clara County will use electronic recording equipment to create courtroom records in more types of cases, representing a shift in policy amid a shortage of court reporters.
Santa Clara Superior Court issued a general order on Friday allowing recording equipment “in specific court proceedings where fundamental liberty interests are at stake, and no court reporter is available,” according to a press release from the court.
The change was made to preserve litigants’ right to appeal as the Court grapples with what it called a “significant, long-standing shortage of court reporters.”
The number of court reporters working for Santa Clara County Superior Court has plummeted from 70 full-time equivalent employees in 2011 to about 28 this year, mirroring a nationwide trend, according to the Superior Court.
Only certain proceedings are legally required to have a verbatim record produced, leaving tens of thousands of civil, family and probate hearings without records.
In 2023, the Court said over 56,000 hearings were held without a verbatim record. This year, that number is projected to be over 70,000.
Before the Court’s order, electronic recording was only allowed in cases involving infractions, criminal misdemeanors, limited civil cases, and for monitoring certain junior judicial officers.
With the change made by the general order, electronic recordings will be allowed for any case that affects fundamental rights and meets certain criteria, including when a court reporter is not available and the parties cannot pay for a private one.
In those cases, a judicial finding will be made and a court clerk will operate electronic recording equipment to create an official record for potential appeals.
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