STATE-FEDERAL COURT REPORTER COMPARISON

Written by Bill Slomanson

I. INTRODUCTION

Charles Dickens penned the renowned novel A Tale of Two Cities (Chapman & Hall, 1859). It focuses on characters in London and Paris, during and after the French Revolution. A number of Californians seemingly do battle in two cities; that is, in the state and federal courts. This essay addresses some uncharted skirmishes involving court reporters (CR) and, once again, California’s legislative and judicial branches.

This essay addresses trial court reporting, as opposed to appellate proceedings. State and federal appellate courts routinely rely on superior court records, including trial court CR transcripts. As the California Supreme Court recently articulated: "the absence of a court reporter at trial court proceedings and the lack of a verbatim record … will frequently be fatal to a litigant’s ability to [appeal]…." (Jameson v. Desta (2018) 5 Cal.5th 594, 608 [invalidating indigent parties having to arrange and pay for a CR].) The U.S. and California Supreme Courts previously determined that indigent defendants convicted of criminal offenses have a constitutional right to a "’record of sufficient completeness’ to permit proper consideration of [their] claims.’" (Mayer v. Chicago (1971) 404 U.S. 189, 198; March v. Municipal Court (1972) 7 Cal.3d 422, 428.)