Solano — Department 8 Standing Orders

Source: https://solano.courts.ca.gov/system/files/form/dept-8-standing-order-authorizing-electronic-recording-cu-and-ch-matters-ensure-due-process-adopting-solano-findings.pdf

1 2 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SOLANO 3

4 In re Findings Concerning Availability DEPARTMENT 8 of CSR Court Reporters for the Solano 5 County Superior Court STANDING ORDER FOR USE OF ER IN 6 CU AND CH CASES

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8 I. 9 FINDINGS

10 A. STATEWIDE AND NATIONAL SHORTAGE OF COURT REPORTERS 11 As set forth in the report prepared by the California Trial Court Consortium (“CTCC”) 12 dated January 25, 2022, entitled “The Causes, Consequences and Outlook of the Court 13 Reporter Shortage in California and Beyond” there is a shortage of certified shorthand 14 1 reporters (“CSR”) in California and nationally. Due to the severe shortage, the Judicial 15 Council of California (JCC) currently tracks the shortage in an electronic dashboard titled 16 Shortage of Court Reporters in California | Judicial Branch of California on the California

17 Courts website at www.courts.ca.gov.

18 Since 2012, the number of court reporters in the United States has decreased by 20.9 19 percent. By 2028, the number of court reporters will have decreased by half. This decrease is largely attributed to attrition in the stenographer workforce due to retirement. For20

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22 1 The findings concerning the statewide and national shortage of court reporters summarized 23 herein, and the data which supports those findings, is set forth in the CTCC report.

example, nationally 1,120 stenographers retire each year, while only 200 new reporters enter1 into the market.2 The reduction of students entering into the workforce to become a CSR has also impacted 3 court reporter schools nationwide. Between 2012 and 2021, the number of court reporter 4 schools approved by the National Court Reporters Association reduced from 54 to 26. 5 In California, court reporting programs have reduced from 16 in 2011 to 8 in 2024, a 44% 6 decline. The California exam for licensure is also rigorous. Between 2018 and 2021, the 7 dictation passage rate for the exam ranged from 8 to 21 percent. In 2019-20, the Court 8 Reporters Board of California issued licenses to 66 new reporters; in 2020-21, 39 new court 9 reporters were licensed. No reciprocity exists in California for reporters licensed in other 10 states. Between 2014 and 2021, the total number of licensed court reporters declined from

11 7,058 to 5,728. As of January 1, 2025, that number has reduced to 4,587 active reporters

12 residing in California. This has led to more than 1.5 million hearings held since January 1,

2023 without a verbatim record.13 Legal changes have also impacted the ability of a court to hire a CSR. In 2019, AB514 was adopted establishing limits on the ability of an employer to classify a temporary

15 employee as an independent contractor. This reduced access to freelance reporters willing to 16 work on a part-time or on-call basis for the court. In addition, changes to the Public 17 Employment Retirement System also impacted retirees, including a six-month waiting period 18 for retirees prior to returning. As a result of these changes, access to reporters who might 19 desire to work intermittently after retirement was reduced. 20 Finally, in 2022, the legislature limited the ability of a court reporter to appear using 21 remote technology. (Code of Civ. Proc., § 367.75.) 22 In conclusion, a court reporter shortage exists both in California and nationally which is

23 unlikely to be resolved in the immediate future.

B. COURT REPORTER AVAILABILITY FOR THE SOLANO COUNTY1 SUPERIOR COURT 2 The Solano County Superior Court values its court reporters and the importance of a 3 verbatim record in the form of certified transcript for the administration of justice in all 4 proceedings.

5 1. The Solano County Superior Court has authorized 14 full-time equivalent

6 (FTE) CSR positions and additionally utilizes the services of 6 retired annuitants to provide

CSR services to the Solano County Superior Court.7
2. Until February 1, 2022, the court was able to regularly provide the services of8
a CSR in all cases, including civil, family and probate. Due to the inability to hire additional

9 reporters to fill vacancies due to attrition, on February 1, 2022, the Solano County Superior 10 Court adopted a policy limiting court reporters to juvenile matters, felony cases, civil 11 commitments, habeas corpus, certain grand jury proceedings, certain family law matters 12 involving minor testimony, contempt proceedings, guardianships, probate conservatorships 13 and timely requests for the services of a court reporter for persons with approved fee waivers 14 pursuant to Jameson v. Desta (2018) 5 Cal.5th 594. 15 3. After the attrition of two additional reporters between February 1 and March 16 29, 2022, the court amended its policy to provide that court reporters would not normally be

17 available in guardianships and probate conservatorships.

18 4. As of February 9, 2026, the court employs the equivalent of 9.2 reporters.

Eight (8) full-time reporters and two part-time reporters. The Court is able to supplement19 these reporters with the services of six retired annuitants on a limited basis.20 5. The court has taken significant steps in an effort to recruit and retain court

21 reporters: 22

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A. Since November 2020, the court has been continuously recruiting to hire any1 full-time or part-time court reporters. The court has received no qualified applicants during2 this time frame. 3 B. In January, 2022, the court increased wages and benefits for court reporters in 4 an effort to recruit and retain reporters. 5 C. The court has aggressively recruited to fill reporter vacancies including 6 utilizing job postings with the California Court Reporters Association, National Court 7 Reporters Association, Indeed, governmentjobs.com and the court’s own website. The court 8 has also listed its vacancies with local court reporter schools. In addition, the court has 9 engaged in targeted recruitment of licensed court reporters in proximity to Solano County. 10 D. The court has changed its calendars, setting guides and reassigned caseloads

11 to focus use of existing reporters solely on matters that must be reported by law. The court

12 has eliminated reporting in cases where reporting is not mandated by law.

Despite these ongoing efforts, the court is experiencing a shortage of court reporters. This13 shortage is not unique to Solano County. Of the 41 courts participating in the CTCC report,14 a total of 209 FTE positions were authorized for CRS, with 49 reported vacancies. Most of

15 these vacancies have been persistent and have existed for more than 12 months. Additional 16 challenges are presented to ensuring adequate access to CSRs in light of the need to provide 17 relief for vacations, illness or injury or when special proceedings such as death penalty cases 18 arise which require additional resources in order to provide statutorily mandated daily 19 transcripts. 20 It is estimated that California Courts need up to an additional 428 full-time court 21 reporters to meet current need. Additional information may be found on the California Courts 22 website at www.courts.ca.gov.

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II. DUE PROCESS FINDINGS1 Despite diligent and significant effort, the court is unable to provide a certified2 shorthand reporter in all matters due to the statewide and national shortage of CSRs. However, 3 the court must continue to fulfill its core judicial functions. 4 Due process requires the availability of an adequate record to afford appellate review. 5 Further, the absence of a record can impact the ability of the assigned judicial officer to recall 6 the proceedings, evidence or testimony or undertake functions such as preparation of a settled 7 statement. Electronic reporting is currently authorized by statute for use in certain matters, 8 including misdemeanor criminal matters, limited jurisdiction matters, traffic and infractions. 9 In the absence of an available CSR, use of electronic reporting provides an adequate record to 10 ensure the parties are afforded due process and to permit the court to fulfill its the core function:

11 the administration of justice. Despite statutory limits on the use of electronic reporting, due

12 process requires that electronic reporting be utilized in the absence of a CSR.

13 IT IS SO ORDERED.14

15 Dated: ______________________4/3/26 _____________________________ Superior Court Judge 16

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