The high tech solutions adopted by CourtScribes Miami court reporters could help solve personnel shortages.
In some states, there’s a shortage of a key ingredient in the smooth running of courthouses. That kind of shortage points out one of the advantages inherent in the technology embrace by the Miami court reporters of CourtScribes.
One of the states facing court reporter shortages is South Carolina. According to the Charleston Post & Courier:
A lack of court reporters in South Carolina — trained stenographers who transcribe verbatim records of proceedings — is causing last-minute cancellations of hearings ranging from divorces to criminal pleas. To officials and observers, this means time wasted, taxpayer money lost and added stress on victims, witnesses and families.
While court reporters often blend into the background, proceedings grind to a halt in their absence.
“It’s one spoke in the whole gear, but it’s stopping up the whole system,” said 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson, who oversees prosecutions in Horry and Georgetown counties. “Everybody’s been impacted.”
More than a quarter of court reporter positions within the S.C. Judicial Department are vacant. With 36 job openings and only 94 reporters working in family and circuit courts across the state, officials said it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to find an employee to fill in when a reporter calls off work.
CourtScribes’ Miami court reporters use technology to revolutionize the court reporting process, which helps overcome such shortages.
The company uses advances in cloud computing, audio and video technology to enhance its courtroom stenography services, building a more accurate and accessible record while bringing down costs in the process.
“CourtScribes is changing the court reporting industry by using Internet age technology to create the official record of court proceedings, using remote transcriptionists and charging attorneys up to 50% less than what they now pay, and as … a disruptive technology will not only improve the quality of services, but also ultimately extend and even democratize the use of services that are today often restricted only to high profile or high dollar value cases,” writes Barry Unger, a professor and entrepreneur, in a white paper.
