Court reporters plead for help to plug resource woes, Chief Justice says approach childish

Several court reporters are calling for the intervention of Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Justice Minister Delroy Chuck to resolve the chronic issue of under resources they have been facing.

They also want an independent body or individual to hear complaints about what they describe as injustices.

The Gleaner has obtained a letter outlining the resource problems faced by court reporters.

It was sent to the chief justice, the Court Registrar, the Head of the Court Administration Division and others.

“It is impossible for a court reporter to perform duties effectively and efficiently without a computer,” read a section of the letter.

Responding, chief justice Bryan Sykes questioned whether the court reporters had been seeking dialogue on their resource issues.

“This is like a child pouting and standing in the corner saying 'You fix this'. Simply sending a list is not the say. Let us demonstrate greater maturity, thought and responsibility,” he wrote.

The chief justice further said he had no difficulty meeting with the court reporters but insisted that he would not tolerate childish behaviour.

Court reporters are responsible for providing verbatim notes of proceedings in the Circuit Courts islandwide and also in civil cases in the Supreme Court.

They have to prepare the notes for judges on a daily basis and prepare the transcripts of cases which are being appealed.

Responding to recent reports that appeal cases were being held up because of delays in getting transcripts from the Supreme Court, the court reporters said they cannot be blamed.

“We are willing and capable of doing our job all we are asking for are the resources to do so, so that transcripts to the Court of Appeal can be delivered on a timely basis,” one spokesperson said.

Several other court reporters who spoke to The Gleaner requested anonymity because they are not permitted to speak to the media.

They complained that they were overburdened with work because of a staff shortage resulting in the deprivation of their vacation leave.

They also referred to numerous other problems including malfunctioning machines, low salary scale and insufficient equipment arguing that for several years they have been complaining to the relevant authorities.

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