County court gets space-aged space-saver

Court reporter replaced with electronic version

EPHRATA — Monday and Tuesday are busy days for attorneys in Grant County Superior Court.

The courtroom can fill with attorneys and other personnel on those days, working through the docket of citizens charged with crimes in Grant County.

But one person has been absent from that courtroom in the last few months — the court reporter who keeps a record of the proceedings has been replaced by an electronic recording system.

Grant County Superior Court Administrator Mindi Finke said the system has been on-line in the courtroom since mid-February. Finke said the digital system produces a compact disc recording of the proceedings, and can later be sent out for attorneys and others to obtain a transcript of a docket.

"It's a pretty amazing system actually," Finke said.

The decision to replace the system came after a combination of budget cuts, and the decision of a previous court reporter to take a job outside the courtroom. The court previously had two court reporters as long as two judges were on the bench, and Finke said a live court reporter will continue to be used for jury trials and other arguments.

In preparing for the system, Finke said the courtroom has been completely re-miked in order to keep a more accurate record. Microphones have been placed at attorney tables and the judge's bench.

The system also provides two cordless microphones that attorneys may use if they need to leave their respective tables and go to an easel for a description. Finke said the system isn't without its tweaks, and the change does provide a bit of a learning curve. Attorneys have a tendency to wander while arguing cases, and Finke said the new system has forced them to stay at the prosecution and defense tables.

The system has already been used in other courtrooms in Grant County, but is a change for Grant County Superior Court.

For some, the new system isn't as good as having a live reporter in the room.

"There are so many benefits to using a live reporter," said Grant County Superior Court Judge Evan Sperline.

Sperline is currently presiding over the criminal docket in Superior Court, and he said the system is clearly second best to using a court reporter. Sperline said that a live reporter has eyes for example, and can distinguish between attorneys who are speaking at any given time.

"The recording system won't necessarily know who's talking," Sperline said.

People tend to take it for granted when a live reporter is in the courtroom, Sperline said. But he did say that the system has made attorneys who spend time in the courtroom be more thoughtful about their actions when arguing a case. He said people tend to take it for granted when a live court reporter is in the courtroom.

"It's forced lawyers to think about the fact that we're always making a record," Sperline said.

Sperline said attorneys for both the state and defense have been very cooperative in their adjustment to the new system. The proof of how well the system works, Sperline said however, will depend on how well a transcriptionist will be able to take down the record off the recording. He said the court won't know the system's effectiveness until someone requests a transcript.

Alan White agreed. White is the supervising attorney for the contract public defenders in Superior Court. He said that the situation hasn't been a problem yet, but he hasn't had the need yet to request a transcript.

John Knodell is concerned however, that the machine isn't picking up all of what is being said in the courtroom. He said they may not know until a case is on appeal.

"We just don't know," Knodell said of the system, "When we find out it will be too late."

Knodell said that Judge Sperline has been effective in making sure attorneys speak into the microphone. He said that the system is something that the court is going to have to live with, but suspected that the court may soon find that the system is no alternative to a live reporter.

"They do a good job of keeping the record a lot clearer than a tape," Knodell said of court reporters like Tom Bartunek.

Bartunek is now the sole court reporter in Superior Court, and will continue to keep records of criminal trials. He said the system is working for now, but said the live court reporter approach is always the best situation. Bartunek added that the electronic system is becoming the norm in other states, and he said some say there's a shortage of qualified court reporters.

"In reality," Bartunek said, "you just want a good record, however it's kept."