Diane Fremgen, Deputy Director for Court Operations, speaks to members of the Making the Record Committee during a meeting on Sept. 30 in Madison.
Director of State Courts Randy R. Koschnick has reconvened the Making the Record Committee to recommend possible statutory and rule changes that will help ensure Wisconsin courts have the ability to take the record and produce transcripts of court proceedings now and into the future. The reconvened committee met for the first time on Sept. 30 in Madison, and via Zoom. Some changes will be necessary in light of an ongoing critical shortage of stenographic court reporters statewide and the need to optimize the use of human resources and technology in addressing the issue, Koschnick said.
The problem is exacerbated by the expected number of stenographic court reporter retirements and lack of potential new recruits – either stenographic or digital court reporters – from court reporter schools.
The ability to take and produce the record is a core function of the courts and must be preserved, Koschnick said.
Agenda items for the committee’s first meeting included a review of the work of past incarnations of the Making the Record Committee, different methods available for taking the record, and methods by which other states take the record. The committee also touched on agenda items related to producing transcripts when a court reporter has retired or left employment and how the timeliness of producing a transcript may affect the appeals process.
In an effort to address the court reporter shortage, Koschnick said the court system has deployed Digital Audio Recording (DAR) systems in nearly all courthouses in Wisconsin. And, a statewide digital court reporter pool has been established to help address shortages as they arise. The statewide pool now has more than 20 digital court reporters who are able to take the record remotely in a separate court facility using DAR equipment, and in conjunction with Zoom. Position authority for the statewide pool was, in effect, created by judges who agreed to forgo their personal appointment authority and rely on a digital court reporter from the statewide pool.
The DAR system enables a court reporter to record the proceedings while inserting time stamped log notes in to the digital recording. A transcript can be produced from this digital record at a later time, as needed. The process differs from stenographic reporting, in which a court reporter writes the record using a stenography machine in the courtroom during a proceeding. The writing of stenography is unique to each court reporter, however with the proper software a transcript can be produced quickly. The court system currently employs a “blended system,” in which the record is either taken by a court reporter using the DAR system, or a court reporter using stenography.
The Director emphasized that the court system values the skills of the current stenographic court reporters and has a critical interest in maintaining the continuity of its workforce. The committee was asked to look at ways to optimize the use of current court reporters while planning for a future where stenographic skills are likely to be far less common.
The Making the Record Committee has convened a number of times over the years to address a range of court reporting related issues, most recently in 2017.
The committee is scheduled to next meet again Dec. 16 and upcoming months.
Members include:
Circuit Court Judges
- D1 – Judge Paul Van Grunsven, Milwaukee County Circuit Court
- D2 – Judge Maureen Martinez, Racine County Circuit Court
- D3 – Judge Sandy Giernoth, Washington County Circuit Court
- D4 – Judge Daniel Borowski, Sheboygan County Circuit Court
- D5 – Judge Susan Crawford, Dane County Circuit Court
- Judge Craig Day, Grant County Circuit Court
- Chief Judge Carrie Schneider, Outagamie County Circuit Court
- Judge John Rhode, Langlade County Circuit Court
- Chief Judge Maureen Boyle, Barron County Circuit Court
Court of Appeals
- Hon. Brian Blanchard, District IV
- Christina Plum, Senior Staff Attorney
- Sheila Reiff, Clerk of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals
Court Reporters
- Patrick Weishan, Official Court Reporter, Dane County
- Nichole Wiest, Official Court Reporter, Grant County
- Connie Hansen, Statewide Pool Manager
- Kristin Menzia, Official Court Reporter, Milwaukee County
- Lynn Penfield, Official Court Reporter, Oneida County
District Court Administrators
- Holly Szablewski, District Court Administrator, 1st Judicial District
- Theresa Owens, District Court Administrator, 5th Judicial District
- Pat Brummond, District Court Administrator, 7th Judicial District
Clerk of Circuit Court
- Tara Berry, Winnebago County Clerk of Court
Director of State Courts Office
- Hon. Randy Koschnick, Director of State Courts
- Diane Fremgen, Deputy Director, Office of Court Operations
- Caitlin Frederick and Melissa Bohse, Office of Management Services
- Tom Flitter, Chief Information Officer
Staff
- Karley Downing, Chief Legal Counsel, Director of State Courts Office
- Beth Barroilhet, Circuit Court Legal Advisor, Office of Court Operations
- Sara Foster, Executive Assistant, Director of State Courts Office