ANOTHER BUDGET CUT CASUALTY: COURT-PROVIDED REPORTERS
Court employees and lawyers in Los Angeles County – as in other California jurisdictions – must adjust to another round of drastic fiscal cuts in operations in the justice system.
County court budgets are funded by the State of California which continues to face severe budget constraints. Los Angeles County’s massive court system is among the largest targets struggling to absorb these cutbacks.
Over the next several months, the L.A. County court system will close eight regional courthouses and create trial “hubs” for certain types of cases, including personal injury, eviction, and small claims. Another victim of the cuts is L.A. County’s alternative dispute center, which provides options to lawsuits, including arbitration, mediation, and settlement conferences.
Also among the latest casualties is a service lawyers always took for granted: reporters in the courtroom provided by the County free-of-charge. Some 60 official court reporters will be laid off. Court reporters will no longer be provided for civil trials. Official reporters for civil law-and-motion matters will be available only on a limited basis.
This move, that shifts the responsibility of providing court reporters in civil trials from the County to lawyers and litigants, follows the lead of other California counties, including San Francisco and San Diego. Because of statutory and constitutional guarantees in the criminal justice system that ensure the right to a speedy trial, the budget ax is falling most heavily on the civil arena.
In response to these cutbacks, Direct Legal Support, Inc. is ready to meet the expected surge of demand by civil attorneys who now must bring their own court reporters to trial. Kern has a highly trained and well-qualified, professional team of court reporters who are familiar with the rules and codes within the LA court system, and are already certified to work in the Los Angeles County Courts.
Kern’s experienced group of certified shorthand reporters is available immediately to handle not only depositions, but court hearings and trials as well, with all the latest technologies.
Lawyers in the Los Angeles area can be confident that the quality of the court reporting services that Kern supplies meet or exceed the standard of service formerly provided by official Los Angeles County Court Reporters.
Direct Legal Support, Inc. has offices and staff available around the State of California, and is prepared to meet the demand of providing reporters for civil trials in other counties as well as in Los Angeles County. Call us (800) 675-5376 for more information.
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