“Some feel they’re trying to do electronic transcripts to do away with court reporters,” she said. “They’re going to find that’s not going to work. Who’s going to certify those transcripts? What if there’s three people talking at once? Who’s going to say who was who? The electronic recorders can’t do it, because there’s not somebody in the courtroom to tell them. That’s our job.” Jones emphasized that the digital recorders are not an attempt to replace court reporters, but rather, placeholders to keep the courts from stalling while the state looks for qualified workers to fill the open positions. “We view digital recording as a supplement to court reporting,” she said. “It has never replaced an existing court reporter, nor do we intend for it to.” Bazzle said that the money spent on digital technologies might be better spent on hiring and retaining proper court reporters. “They have shortages nationwide, but nothing as drastic as in South Carolina,” she said. “If they would put the effort into studying to see what they could do about being competitive with.....MORE
