Importance of the verbatim record
Between July 1 and September 30, 2023, of 343,200 family, probate, and unlimited civil hearings in California, an estimated 133,000 hearings had no verbatim record (38.8% of reported hearings), and an additional estimated 81,900 hearings (23.9%) had no court-provided reporter and it is unknown whether a verbatim record was captured by a private court reporter.21 The lack of a verbatim record will “frequently be fatal” to a litigant’s ability to have an appeal decided on the merits.
For example, victims seeking protective orders, such as victims of domestic violence or elder abuse, may have difficulty appealing the denial of a protective order because theydon’t have a record. In civil matters, an appellate court may be unable to review a party’s claim of error in the trial court. In criminal proceedings, the lack of a sufficient record may impact a defendant’s constitutional rights of due process and equal protection.23California appellate courts have also ordered new criminal proceedings where a reporter’s notes were destroya