According to the
St. Petersburg Times, the
Pinellas county court system recently finished its launch of a new $440,000 digital court reporting system, using eight microphones in each of the criminal courthouse's 22 felony and misdemeanor courtrooms to record lawyers, judges and witnesses. The sound is stored digitally on computers.
The circuit joins at least a half dozen around Florida, including Hillsborough county, that have already gone digital to some degree.
The move, reportedly driven primarily by a shortage of court reporters, is expected to eventually save money, though how much and when remains unclear.
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