COCRA needs the help of every COCRA member and their supporters. COCRA is asking all officials and their supporters to send letters or faxes to the members of the Conference Committee on the Budget.

They will be meeting Tuesday, June 2nd, in Sacramento beginning at 9:30 in the morning and they will have public comment. The names and the numbers for the committee members are listed here along with a sample letter for your faxes and letters. Your subject line should read: OPPOSE ELECTRONIC COURT REPORTING/Judicial Budget Item.

Please send your letters and faxes in before the end of day on Monday, June 1st.

Let them know the important role that officials play in the courts and what a loss of our profession would mean to the public and to the administration of justice as well.

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The Legislative Analyst’s Office [LAO] is proposing full implementation of electronic recording, eliminating official court reporters at a rate of 20% per year for five years.

Because of our budget crisis, we find ourselves facing the LAO proposal to implement ER once again.

Apparently, the LAO does not understand that eliminating official court reporters’ positions hurts Californians more than it helps.

As COCRA stated before, our legal system is where our fellow Californians go during their most difficult times either criminally or civilly. The citizens need to know that a certified shorthand reporter is preserving their record for appeal or other necessary legal proceedings.

Misrepresentations made by the LAO (two of which are listed below) prompted COCRA to compile sourced, current, and factual data in their Preserving Access to Justice Task Force Report, revised February of 2009, which points out the many problems ER creates for those involved in the legal system.

For example, in December of 2008, the LAO stated, “Based on our analysis of [a study in CA], the state could save over a hundred million dollars per year on an annual basis,” if California official reporting positions are eliminated at a rate of 20% per year.

After Senator Roderick D. Wright (D) of District 25 expressed concern over the timeliness of transcript production and about unverified terminology being transcribed at a later date, the LAO stated, “Well, I think my understanding is that normally the recordings would be transcribed within a day.”

COCRA is working hard to ensure that everyone in Sacramento is aware of these and other misrepresentations and will continue to attend every hearing open to our group.

COCRA is also in contact with SEIU, AFSCME, IFPTE, CCRA, and DRA to ensure the interests of all official court reporters and fellow Californians are represented.

Please help COCRA support you. We need your time, financial donations, and input.

Send letters and faxes to the committee members listed below.

Also, please remember to be a little kinder, more generous, and patient when connecting with people.

You never know if someone you meet has just lost his/her profession and has nowhere to go.

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