Court Reporter Shortage

On December 4, 2024, FVAP, represented by Covington & Burling LLP and Community Legal Aid SoCal, and Bay Area Legal Aid filed an original writ petition in the California Supreme Court to challenge the state’s ban on litigants using electronic recording in most civil court hearings, when a court reporter is unavailable, even if a party cannot afford to hire a private court reporter.  To have a record of a court hearing, a court reporter is usually required.  Because of an ongoing court reporter shortage crisis, every year in this state over a million court hearings go without any record of what happened at the hearing, making appeals, subsequent trial court proceedings, and judicial oversight practically impossible.  This e-recording ban impacts most civil court cases, including family law and restraining order matters.  Importantly, the problems can be even worse for certain communities, such as those with disabilities or limited English proficiency, and those in rural communities, the LGBTQIA2S+ communities, and communities of color, as noted by the amici letters submitted in support of our lawsuit as well as a April 4, 2024, LA Times article where FVAP is quoted.  

On February 19, 2025, the Court issued an Order to Show Cause, which means it agreed to hear our case.  The Court staff summarized the issues here, as such:  “Does the prohibition on electronic recording of certain proceedings in Government Code section 69957, subdivision (a) violate the California Constitution when an official court reporter is unavailable and a litigant cannot afford to pay a private court reporter?”

On this page you can find a copy of our original writ petition, the Court’s Order to Show Cause, our Traverse/Reply Brief, the nine amicus (“friend of the court”) letters submitted in support of our writ petition being heard on the merits, the 13 amicus briefs filed in support of our petition being granted on the merits, press releases and articles about the case, FAQ’s, and more information.  You can also find more information about the case on the Court’s online docket (case no. S288176), where you can sign up for email alerts to get updates about the case.