Coalition calls on state legislature to expand methods of capture to ensure all Californians maintain access to the record

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that trial courts must give indigent litigants a way to obtain an official record of their court proceedings — including through electronic recording — when no court reporter is available. The Coalition to Capture the Record released the following statement:

“For years, low-income Californians have gone into courtrooms for restraining order hearings, custody disputes, and other proceedings that can upend a life, and been told there is simply no reporter and no record. Without a record, there is effectively no right to appeal. Today the Supreme Court recognized that, and we applaud the Court for this ruling and for protecting the due process rights of Californians who cannot afford a private court reporter. Notably, the Court did not treat electronic recording as an inferior or unreliable way of creating the record — it found that any concerns about accuracy “can be mitigated with standardized procedures and safeguards,” and that a record created through electronic recording is far preferable to no record at all.

“But today’s ruling, while significant, does not solve the crisis statewide. The writ of mandate binds only the four superior courts named in the case — leaving 54 of California’s 58 counties untouched — and applies only to litigants who qualify as indigent. Middle-income Californians who cannot afford a private court reporter but do not qualify for a fee waiver remain without a clear remedy. The Court also expressly declined to reach the broader due process, equal protection, and separation-of-powers arguments raised in the case, resolving the matter on narrower statutory grounds instead — leaving the durability of today’s fix, and its extension to anyone outside this specific lawsuit, an open question.

“The Supreme Court did exactly what a court should do: It stepped in to stop an immediate injustice where the Legislature has not yet acted, but a writ of mandate against four counties is not a substitute for a statewide law. California needs a permanent statutory framework that recognizes digital and voice reporting, performed by trained, certified professionals, as legitimate methods for capturing the record in every county.

“A bill that would have taken a step in that direction, AB 1189, would establish certified digital reporter designations under state law. We are calling on lawmakers to revive and pass this type of legislation authorizing digital and voice reporting statewide, so that courts have clear, permanent authority to fill reporter vacancies with qualified professionals using modern digital and voice-writing methods alongside traditional stenography.

“This ruling should be the floor, not the ceiling. We thank the Court for protecting the record today. Now it’s the Legislature’s turn to make sure every Californian — not just those who win a writ petition — has access to the verbatim record their case deserves.”