NCJ Number
88480
Journal
State Court Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1983) Pages: 12-15,38
Date Published
1983
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The central audio recording system being used at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia is efficient and economical and may augur a major change in urban court recording practices.
Abstract
The system uses eight-track, reel-to-reel recording machines connected to a central recording location to record the proceedings at the high-volume courts, like the small claims court and the traffic court. The system also provides a backup to a staff court reporter in many of the regular trial courtrooms. Although the eight-track system is more costly than alternative systems, its major benefits are the clarity and overall quality of the product and the resulting ease of transcription. The individual channels permit isolation of each voice by the transcriber, even when several people have spoken at once. The provision of sound reinforcement in the form of a loudspeaker system for the recording courtrooms has been a valuable byproduct of the system. Automatic Gain Control circuitry regulates each microphone to maintain a constant volume. The system also has the capability for playback. The staff required when the system is completed for 44 courtrooms and 6 hearing rooms will be about four operator/technicians. The main problems to date have been the lack of a consistently clean brand of tape and the suboptimal placement of microphones in the courtrooms. Central recording systems are cost effective only in multijudge court facilities, probably with at least five courtrooms. The use of glass-fiber phone lines may soon make it possible to provide economical central recording for courtrooms which are many miles apart. Notes containing cost data are included.