A bill working its way through committee could set the stage for courts in 11 counties to pilot virtual court reporting technology.
Assembly Bill 3013, sponsored by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, D-San Diego, would allow for pilot projects to examine the feasibility of virtual court reporting in civil cases before Superior Courts.
Courts in Alameda, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Monterey, Orange, San Diego, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Tulare and Ventura counties would be eligible to participate in only 10 percent of their courtrooms.
The most recent iteration of the legislation would mandate that participating court systems be equipped with the necessary technology by June 30, 2025, with a termination date of no later than July 1, 2026.
Pilot projects would be limited to certain “civil cases, civil law and motion cases, family law cases, child support cases, probate cases, and felony and misdemeanor arraignments and pleas.”
Existing law prohibits the use of remote or virtual court reporting, “to produce the record of any court proceedings and from expending any funds to purchase equipment or software to facilitate the use of remote court reporting.”
Presiding judges of participating courts would be required to report their findings to the Legislature no later than six months after the completion of the project.
The bill was most recently passed out of the Committee on Judiciary and was re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations on April 9.
Virtual Court Reporting Pilot Bill Advances in Committee
The legislation would set the stage for courts in 11 counties to implement and test remote court reporting technology.
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