Ventura County Grand Jury
• 2000-2001
Ventura County Grand Jury Report Court Reporter Transcription Fees
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings 6 findings
F1
The Court Reporter is a full-time county employee receiving salary and benefits in accordance with his/her job classification.
F2
State regulations specify that the Court Reporter owns and can copy- right the transcripts of trials and indictments.
F3
All accused persons in criminal proceedings are entitled to County- funded copies of Court transcripts.
F4
During the 2000-2001 period, one Grand Jury indictment resulted in transcript fees in excess of $200,000 to provide the transcripts to twenty-eight defendants and their lawyers.
F5
The transcript costs will be paid by the County and charged to the Trial Court Funding account.
F6
The Court Reporter and the County of Ventura are conforming to applicable law in the actions outlined in F-1 through F-5. Conclusions C-1 The County of Ventura has had no defined procedure for allocating court transcript fees since the transfer of court funding to the State in 1998. It appears that in the past, charges have been assigned to the “account of least resistance”. Final Report 2000-2001 Ventura County Grand Jury C-2 The Trial Court Funding (TCF) account has recently been designated as the most appropriate budget category for the transcript fee charges. C-3 There appears to be a lack of planning and budgetary projection of transcription costs that can result in significant dollar amounts in unanticipated costs to the county. F-4 Recommendations
Recommendations 2
-
R1The CAO office should formally designate the Trial Court Funding (TCF) account as the budget account to be used for Court Reporter charges and associated expenses to eliminate the confusion and con- flict that has existed in prior years. F-5
-
R2The District Attorney should work closely with the CAO to provide the earliest possible notification of exceptionally large cases to allow time for sufficient budget adjustments and funding for the Trial Court Funding account. C-3 Responses Required: Chief Administrative Officer R-1 District Attorney R-2 56
Conclusions 2
-
CL1 Page 3C-1 The County of Ventura has had no defined procedure for allocating court transcript fees since the transfer of court funding to the State in 1998. It appears that in the past, charges have been assigned to the “account of least resistance”. 55
-
CL2 Page 4Final Report 2000-2001 Ventura County Grand Jury C-2 The Trial Court Funding (TCF) account has recently been designated as the most appropriate budget category for the transcript fee charges. C-3 There appears to be a lack of planning and budgetary projection of transcription costs that can result in significant dollar amounts in unanticipated costs to the county. F-4
Agency Responses 2
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.