...For example, five years ago court reporters had their work hours slashed from 40 to 35 hours per week, reducing them from full-time to part-time employees. This made Orange County the only Superior Court in all of California to rely solely on part-time court reporters. Within a short time, many highly trained, dedicated court reporters fled O.C. for positions in courts in neighboring counties, in pursuit of more hours and better wages and benefits. This flight of talent continues, to the point that the O.C. Superior Court today employs only 80 court reporters compared to 120 five years ago, a staggering 33 percent reduction. Because court proceedings depend on the presence of a court reporter, the net result has been a “domino effect” negatively impacting all court operations and severely reducing access to justice for O.C. residents......MORE
