4 Leonard J. Schrager, President of the Chicago Bar Association has written a letter to Justice Freeman urging the Supreme Court to reconsider the use of audio recording. 6 Independent studies by the Justice Research Institute of Pennsylvania and Thomas Cunningham, a former Executive Officer for the Circuit Court of Cook County, and others reveal that tape recording systems cost MORE than the professional certified reporter. The AOIC has conceded that no study is being conducted by the State despite claims that audio recording is more efficient and cost-effective. Electronic recording is not new technology. And a very expensive recording at that.
Audio recordings are more difficult to transcribe than a court reporter's record.
This is not a complaint being made by the court reporters. 9 Federal Judges are given the choice of a professional certified reporter or electronic recording. Judges and attorneys have consistently voiced their preference of official reporters and a written transcript as the most efficient means of reviewing the verbatim record. Private conversations between attorneys and clients are recorded unless the attorney turns his microphone off. Let's hope he remembers to turn it back on.