Making the Record: Utilizing Digital Electronic Recording Paper Released

My good friend, former Vermont State Court Administrator, Lee Suskin and I have been busy this year working with the digital electronic recording industry to write the above titled report that is now available.  Click here to download a PDF copy of the paper.

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Following the 2009 release of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) Policy Paper, Digital Recording: Changing Times for Making the Record; the organization requested that the NCSC:

• Develop comprehensive model standards that govern the technology, archiving, storage, and retrieval of electronic recordings of court proceedings and safeguard the integrity of the record
• Compile a resource reference on standards and procedures for transcript production for use by the courts

The NCSC secured funding from the State Justice Institute (www.sji.gov) and this paper is the result of their support.

Please note that this paper is not an assessment of whether an accurate, complete, and timely record of court proceedings can be produced using the traditional model of stenographic reporting, nor is it an assessment of whether can it can be produced using digital recording.

This paper does set forth practices and procedures that should be established and implemented before making the record using digital recording technology; and it sets forth the standards for the digital recording hardware and software and peripheral equipment that is needed in order to capture and preserve a complete and accurate record of court proceedings and addresses the following major topic areas:

• Governance, Organization, and Structure
• Procedures and Best Practices for the Use of Digital Recording Technology
• Transcription and Delivery of the Record
• Digital Recording Equipment and Technology Standards

Additional sections in the report address Microphones, The Future of Speech Recognition Technology, Remote Monitoring of Courtroom Proceedings, Vendor Related Issues, The AAERT Code of Professional Ethics, Log Note Entries, and a sample Appearance/Information form are included.

The paper was written with the help and cooperation of Jim Bowen, President of the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers (AAERT), Michael F. Tannen, Executive Director of AAERT, and SueLynn Morgan, former President of the National Court Reporters Association and currently Director of Consulting Services at ForTheRecord, and the digital electronic recording vendor community.

• AVTranz
• CourtSmart Digital Systems, Inc.
• ForTheRecord
• JCG Technologies, Inc.
• Jefferson Audio Video Systems
• Liberty Court Recorder
• VIQ Solutions Inc

The paper was also reviewed by court record experts from across the country.  We are very much in debt to them for their help and participation.  And we further believe that this guidance will be of help to the courts in their implementation of digital record systems.