Earlier this week I served as an alternate on a jury in Cook County Circuit Court. It’s been about 20 years since the last time I was on a jury, so I’m sure a few things have changed. However, I noticed that this time, there wasn’t a court reporter in the courtroom, and I wondered why. In the orientation video that was shown in the jury assembly room at the beginning of the day they showed a reporter with the steno machine, though the video was a few years old (I’d already seen it a couple of times).
I should’ve asked the bailiff, but I forgot. So, what happened to the court reporter?
My WAG would be that the “court recorder” in this case is a tape recorder (either audio or video) and that the official transcript (if one is needed) is transcribed from the recording.
I don’t know about Illinois, but in California for misdemeanors a court reporter isn’t required. I was once on a misdemeanor jury and there was no court reporter or record of the trial other than the verdict itself.
I found it inconvenient not to have a record to consult.
Court reporters are not routinely provided any more in most Circuit Court of Cook County courtrooms. If one of the litigants wants a court reporter, he hires a private one.