(Radio Iowa) – The Sixth Judicial District that covers six counties in eastern Iowa is using a new technology to address its shortage of the court reporters. Crystal Beaman is a “Voice Writer” court reporter and tells K-C-R-G T-V she talks into a microphone to dictate what’s happening through a software program instead of typing it on a traditional steno-type machine. “I like being in the courtroom, I like hearing arguments, I like the process,” she says. Certification for a voice writer takes half the time of a stenographer. Kelle Cortez hired Beaman after state lawmakers made it possible for “voice writers” to be court reporters. “It’s a slow process because Iowa was the last, I believe there were only four states in the country that didn’t recognize voice writer,” Cortez says, “we were kind of late to the party.”

Photo via National Verbatim Reporters Assoc.org (Court reporter using a “Voice Writer”-type dictation system.

There are 20 court reporter positions in the sixth district and only eight are filled, which causes scheduling issues. “We have to prioritize cases and balance that with the resources that we have,” she says. “When it comes to the court reporter shortage that we have, that has huge impacts on scheduling.” There are two candidates about to finish the “voice writing” program. Beaman tells K-C-R-G T-V part of what she is doing is showing that this new technology isn’t going to be a distraction in the courtroom. “We want to be a good court reporter, and we want to be a good representative of what we do,” Beaman says.

The sixth judicial district includes Linn, Johnson, Iowa Tama, Jones, and Benton Counties.