Stephen Embry's "Whither the Court Reporters?" in Above the Law asks whether, given the shortage of stenographers, we still need court reporters at all or whether recording devices alone can do the job. That's the wrong question. 

The real question is what to do about the growing shortage to ensure a trained professional remains in the courtroom and in the deposition room. 

The answer lies in expanding available methods of record capture.  That includes allowing digital and voice reporting to capture testimony in addition to stenographers. 

Let's be clear: A digital reporter isn't someone who presses record and walks away. Digital reporters are trained, certified professionals — credentialed through bodies like the American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers — who operate multi-channel recording systems, monitor audio quality live, flag inaudible testimony as it happens, track exhibits and off-the-record breaks, control the room, and certify the final transcript. Every safeguard Embry credits to stenographers — a neutral presence keeping proceedings orderly, catching what a microphone alone would miss — exists with this method, too. The method is different, but the need for a trained professional remains the same.

The real crisis isn't cost. It's scarcity of supply. Certified stenographic court reporters in the U.S. fell from roughly 32,000 in 2013 to 23,000 in 2023, and with more retirements on the horizon and lagging recruiting, the decline is projected to continue.

Stenographer Shortage is a Growing Concern

That shortage is driving delayed depositions, unrecorded proceedings, and litigants who can't get a transcript at all. A recording device with nobody watching it doesn't solve that problem. It strips out the safeguard Embry wants preserved.

Digital reporting fixes it by growing the pool of trained professionals rather than replacing them with machines. Its certification path is shorter than stenography's, so digital reporters can be trained and deployed faster to close gaps new stenographers alone can't fill.

The question isn't whether we still need trained people capturing the record. We do. It's why courts haven't moved fast enough to recognize digital reporting as a reliable method to meet a demand stenography can no longer meet alone.