Backing the Bill, Battling the Bench

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Defending the Record: How We Can Support AB 882 and Push Back Against Judicial Council Overreach

The fight to protect the integrity of California’s court record is entering a new and urgent phase. With the Judicial Council working aggressively to expand the use of electronic recording in our courtrooms—often outside legislative oversight—court reporters, legal professionals, and the public face a critical moment. Assembly Bill 882 (AB 882) may not be perfect, but it represents a necessary foothold in an otherwise shifting landscape. Supporting this bill is only the beginning. We must also develop long-term strategies to hold the courts accountable and secure the future of our profession.

Why AB 882 Matters Now

California’s courts have been quietly bypassing long-standing state law by introducing electronic recording into courtrooms that are legally required to have certified shorthand reporters. These efforts are gaining momentum, and now, with the California Supreme Court considering a case that could eliminate legal safeguards against electronic recordings, the urgency could not be greater.

AB 882 offers a measured, temporary solution that still preserves essential protections. It allows electronic recording only in limited circumstances—when no court reporter is available—and only in family law, probate, and civil contempt matters. It requires court leadership to document their lack of staffing, and crucially, it prohibits the displacement of working reporters. Even more importantly, the bill expires in 2028, giving the profession and the Legislature time to revisit and revise the policy once more data and oversight are available.

While not a total victory, AB 882 is a strategic compromise that keeps certified court reporters at the table, where they can influence ongoing policy discussions. Letting this opportunity pass could cede critical ground to those advocating for a future in which our role is minimized or replaced.

How You Can Support AB 882

  1. Contact Your Legislators: A personal phone call or email to your Assemblymember and State Senator makes a big difference. Let them know why you support AB 882 and how electronic recordings threaten the reliability and integrity of the court system.
  2. Attend Hearings: If you’re able, show up to committee hearings or floor votes where AB 882 is being discussed. A visible presence reminds lawmakers that court reporters are watching and engaged.
  3. Submit Letters of Support: Through your union, association, or as an individual, submit letters of support for AB 882 through the Legislature’s online portal or via email to committee members.
  4. Engage with Legal Allies: Reach out to attorneys, bar associations, and legal aid organizations who rely on accurate records. Help them understand how the erosion of court reporting affects their clients and cases.
  5. Speak Publicly: Whether at town halls, legal panels, or in op-eds for your local paper, make your voice heard. Frame the issue not as one of job protection, but of justice protection—because that’s what it truly is.

Beyond the Bill: Bigger Moves to Push Back

Supporting AB 882 is just one step. The Judicial Council has spent years building a quiet infrastructure of digital recording systems while failing to prioritize recruitment and retention of certified court reporters. It’s time we matched that strategy with one of our own.

Here are some ways we can go further:

1. Demand Transparency and Oversight

One of the most powerful tools we have is public accountability. We need to advocate for audits and oversight hearings into:

  • How the Judicial Council has allocated funding meant for court reporter positions.
  • Whether counties using electronic recording are in violation of current state law.
  • The outcomes of cases where recordings failed or produced incomplete transcripts.

This kind of scrutiny can expose the risks to litigants and pressure courts to reverse course.

2. Pressure the Judicial Council Directly

Most of the Judicial Council’s decisions happen outside of public view. That needs to change.

  • Submit public comments at Judicial Council meetings.
  • Organize targeted campaigns to demand court reporting be treated as a priority, not an afterthought.
  • Request data through public records requests on where and how electronic recording is being used.

The more we shine a light, the harder it will be for these shifts to happen in the shadows.

3. Support Reporter Training and Pipeline Programs

The courts argue they have no choice but to turn to recordings because of a lack of available reporters. While we know this problem stems from their own failure to hire and support staff, we can still take the lead in solving it.

  • Advocate for state-funded court reporting scholarships and tuition assistance programs.
  • Work with community colleges to expand or reestablish reporting programs, especially in underserved regions.
  • Create mentorship pipelines between veteran reporters and students.

By increasing the supply of certified professionals, we remove the courts’ main excuse for turning to machines.

4. Partner with Access-to-Justice Organizations

Many nonprofit and legal advocacy groups are deeply concerned about equity in the courts—but they may not yet see the link between unreliable recordings and barriers to justice.

Build coalitions with:

  • Legal aid groups
  • Domestic violence support organizations
  • Disability rights advocates
  • Immigrant legal defense networks

Explain how electronic recordings disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable—those who need a complete and accurate record the most but are least able to fight for it.

5. Harness Technology—On Our Terms

Technology isn’t inherently the enemy—but unaccountable, poorly maintained, and unverified systems are.

We can advocate for technology that supports reporters, not replaces them. That means:

  • Promoting real-time transcription for access and transparency.
  • Exploring AI tools that assist reporters in their work, rather than substitute for them.
  • Demanding independent validation and testing of any electronic recording system before it is considered in a legal setting.

Conclusion: This Is the Time to Act

Court reporters are more than transcriptionists—we are guardians of the record, the only ones trained and legally accountable for capturing every word spoken in the courtroom. The Judicial Council’s efforts to normalize electronic recordings are a direct threat not just to our profession, but to due process and access to justice.

AB 882 is a step toward reclaiming the narrative, creating accountability, and keeping certified professionals at the heart of the justice system. But it’s not enough to defend. We must also go on offense: organize, speak out, and push for the future we want to see.

Let’s be clear—machines don’t deliver justice. We do.

Published by stenoimperium

We exist to facilitate the fortifying of the Stenography profession and ensure its survival for the next hundred years! As court reporters, we've handed the relationship role with our customers, or attorneys, over to the agencies and their sales reps.  This has done a lot of damage to our industry.  It has taken away our ability to have those relationships, the ability to be humanized and valued.  We've become a replaceable commodity. Merely saying we are the “Gold Standard” tells them that we’re the best, but there are alternatives.  Who we are though, is much, much more powerful than that!  We are the Responsible Charge.  “Responsible Charge” means responsibility for the direction, control, supervision, and possession of stenographic & transcription work, as the case may be, to assure that the work product has been critically examined and evaluated for compliance with appropriate professional standards by a licensee in the profession, and by sealing and signing the documents, the professional stenographer accepts responsibility for the stenographic or transcription work, respectively, represented by the documents and that applicable stenographic and professional standards have been met.  This designation exists in other professions, such as engineering, land surveying, public water works, landscape architects, land surveyors, fire preventionists, geologists, architects, and more.  In the case of professional engineers, the engineering association adopted a Responsible Charge position statement that says, “A professional engineer is only considered to be in responsible charge of an engineering work if the professional engineer makes independent professional decisions regarding the engineering work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional engineer’s physical presence at the location where the engineering work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the engineering work.” If we were to adopt a Responsible Charge position statement for our industry, we could start with a draft that looks something like this: "A professional court reporter, or stenographer, is only considered to be in responsible charge of court reporting work if the professional court reporter makes independent professional decisions regarding the court reporting work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional court reporter’s physical presence at the location where the court reporting work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the court reporting work.” Shared purpose The cornerstone of a strategic narrative is a shared purpose. This shared purpose is the outcome that you and your customer are working toward together. It’s more than a value proposition of what you deliver to them. Or a mission of what you do for the world. It’s the journey that you are on with them. By having a shared purpose, the relationship shifts from consumer to co-creator. In court reporting, our mission is “to bring justice to every litigant in the U.S.”  That purpose is shared by all involved in the litigation process – judges, attorneys, everyone.  Who we are is the Responsible Charge.  How we do that is by Protecting the Record.

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