What the Court Reporter Shortage Means for Courts
The court reporter shortage means many courts can no longer staff a certified reporter for every hearing, which leaves some proceedings without a verbatim record and puts litigants’ right to appeal at risk. To keep an official record when no reporter is available, a growing number of courts are turning to electronic recording, and several states already use it when a reporter isn’t available. California joined them in August 2026, when its Supreme Court ruled that courts must allow electronic recording for qualifying low-income litigants when a certified reporter cannot be found.