A perspective on Courtran as a system that allows courts to make informed decisions about the management of its operations and caseload, and on the need to develop and implement new management techniques. Prepared for presentation at the International Search Symposium, New Orleans, La., October 3–5, 1972.

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The court reporting study was concerned with test of the feasibility of using an existing computerized translation system for the production of transcript in courtroom environment; the development of suitable statistics on time and cost of transcript preparation with any of a number of alternative methods now in use or available; and a survey of laws pertaining to the recording of court proceedings. The Executive Summary has been prepared as a digest of the study. In particular, it distills the main features of Volume I, a compendium of information on available systems, including descriptions and the necessary quantitative data to assist court administrative personnel in modifying existing arrangements for their own jurisdictions. Details of the experimental program, survey of laws, and an annotated bibliography are contained in three additional volumes of the full report.

The major recommendations are that further research and development effort is necessary and is warranted, and that consideration might be given to using the currently available computerized system as an interim measure to relieve excessive backlogs, but subject to some compromise in existing practice.

This National Bureau of Standards report was prepared for the National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration of the Department of Justice under NI-042 IA and for the Federal Judicial Center.