LACK OF STENOGRAPHER CANCELS `3 STRIKES' CASES.Byline: Keith Stone Daily News Staff Writer In an unusual impact from the state's ``three strikes, you're out'' sentencing law, a Superior Court judge has dismissed two criminal cases because the civil courtroom where they were scheduled did not have a courtroom stenographer An individual who records court proceedings either in shorthand or through the use of a paper-punching device. A court stenographer is an officer of the court and is generally considered to be a state or public official. . Judge Gregory O'Brien threw out the criminal matters, one of them a child molestation Child molestation is a crime involving a range of indecent or sexual activities between an adult and a child, usually under the age of 14. In psychiatric terms, these acts are sometimes known as pedophilia. case, when prosecutors refused to proceed to trial without a courtroom stenographer present. O'Brien's courtroom, typically used for civil matters, is equipped with a tape recorder that is used routinely in civil matters instead of a stenographer. According to Assistant Presiding Judge presiding judge n. 1) in both state and federal appeals court, the judge who chairs the panel of three or more judges during hearings and supervises the business of the court. Robert Parkin parkin Noun Brit a moist spicy ginger cake usually containing oatmeal [origin unknown] , the prosecutor or the defendant's attorney is entitled by law in a criminal matter to have a court stenographer present during the trial. Prosecutors have since refiled charges in the molestation molestation n. the crime of sexual acts with children up to the age of 18, including touching of private parts, exposure of genitalia, taking of pornographic pictures, rape, inducement of sexual acts with the molester or with other children, and variations of these case. Largely as a result of the ``three strikes'' sentencing law, 35 percent more criminal cases are going to trial, Parkin said. The overflow is ending up in civil courtrooms, many of them equipped with electronic recorders. With nearly 600 criminal cases being moved into civil courtrooms in 1995 - up from 182 in 1994 - more problems are possible. But Parkin said he now has directed judges to seek out a court stenographer if one is requested, adding that he believes there are enough court reporters to cover all criminal trials. |
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