Case CATalyst Makes an Impact Around the World
By Judy Wolf, Product Manager
Winter 2002 (12/01)
The Republic of Ghana...
When the Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana learned that one of his court members was traveling to Chicago to visit relatives, he implored him to visit Stenograph. Evidently, an initiative was underway to revitalize the court reporting program in the Republic. This initiative was fostered by officials from the United States Embassy and the World Bank by virtue of their democratization efforts around the world. It is broadly recognized that only through accurate and complete court reporting can a government achieve transparency in the court systems. Transparency in the courts is essential to the fundamentals of democracy.

We welcomed the Honorable Justice S. A. Brobbey, LLB, Justice of the Court of Appeals, in the fall of 1998. Justice Brobbey had clearly defined objectives for his visit. First, he wanted to learn about computer-aided-transcription and how it worked. Second, he wanted to learn how it was taught. And third, he wanted to see it in action in a live court setting. We gave him a complete tour of the Stenograph manufacturing, training and support facilities. We visited schools and classrooms where he was able to interact with the teachers and students. We visited a court house where talked to a court reporter and a judge about their views of court reporting. Justice Brobbey was elated and enthusiastic about his mission and was eager to report back to the Chief Justice.

Time passed, wheels turned, people retired, new people took their place, initiatives were proposed, initiatives were declined, and new initiatives were proposed. Now, in the fall of 2001, the judiciary is ready to begin their program. As I write this article, the Stenturas headed for Ghana are being produced on our manufacturing floor. They will also be receiving Case CATalyst software, Phoenix Theory™ Training Materials and other assorted supplies and reference materials to start their brand-new training program. An American education consultant will be traveling to Ghana after the first of the year to begin the train-the-teacher program. He will provide ongoing support to the teachers throughout the first year of the program. We wish them success in their program!

The Republic of the Philippines...
When the people of the Republic of the Philippines filed a complaint against their president, Joseph Estrada, claiming he violated the constitution and was guilty of graft and corruption, local court reporters rose to the challenge.

Estrada, who was ousted from power last January after serving 30 months as President, was the first Philippine president to ever be impeached. The impeachment proceedings were closely watched and received tremendous media coverage around the world. The trial was also televised live. Much of the procedural substance of the corruption trial was based on the United States congressional impeachment model where the senators can ask questions rather than the Philippine model where the chief justice alone asks the questions.

Court reporters from the Supreme Court were called in to produce a daily copy record for the senators. The reporters had been using CATalyst since 1997 and had well-developed dictionaries and expertise in producing transcripts.

Since they teamed up and took turns throughout the day, the court reporters were able to produce a printed transcript within a few hours. Shall we say that the senators were surprised and delighted when they received the transcripts in this manner? That would be an understatement! Shall we say that the esteem for court reporters rose dramatically after this event? Again, an understatement! While machine shorthand is broadly used in the Philippines, computer aided transcription is not. We have a feeling that that is about to change! Congratulations to the Philippine court reporters!

Note: Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was elected as Estrada's constitutional successor.

Botswana...
When most people think of Botswana, they think of an exotic safari through Chobe National Park or seeing the majestic Victoria Falls. Here at Stenograph, we think of the successful court reporting program that was started there in 1996. The Botswana Institute of Administration and Training hosted a machine shorthand course and it is still in operation today. They started with Premier Power and currently use Case CATalyst student software donated by Stenograph. While the program is ongoing at the Institute, the High Court of Botswana sponsored the education of several of their employees to attend court reporting school here in the United States. The first employee has just returned to Francistown in eastern Botswana and is looking forward to using her brand new Stentura® and Case CATalyst software that was purchased through a grant from a donor agency. This is another example of worldwide efforts to provide transparency in the courts in support of democratic principles. Best wishes to all the court reporters returning to Botswana to begin their careers!