For two decades, Miami-Dade criminal court stenographer Vanester Collier has dutifully recorded and transcribed everything from the mundane arraignment hearing to the televised murder trial.
But now Collier is refusing to transcribe the trial of a Miami man convicted of murder because state administrators, armed with a little-noticed rate change passed by lawmakers, have cut her pay for the work by nearly 30 percent.
The result is a legal standoff of sorts, as a judge has ordered Collier to transcribe the case or turn her notes over to another court reporter. On principle, she is still refusing, as defendant Felix Molina — convicted by jurors, sentenced to life in prison — awaits the record of his trial so he can appeal.
Lawmakers last session decided that defendants such as Molina, deemed indigent and usually represented by court-appointed private lawyers, must pay $3.95 per page for an appeals transcript.
That’s down from $5.50 per page, the long-standing appeals rate still paid by Miami-Dade’s Public Defender and Region Counsel, both state-funded offices that represent the poor accused and convicted of crimes.
“I’ve been in the business more than 20 years and I haven’t made $3.95 since 1984,” Collier said. “It’s a murder case. You want to take a man’s life from him, but then you want to pay pennies to get [the appeal] done.”
In a state court system already strained by budget concerns, the saga underscores trying times for criminal court stenographers, who generally earn less than counterparts in civil court and have no control over which cases fall into their courtrooms.
CONSEQUENCES
The effect of the drastic rate change, observers fear: Experienced reporters will simply leave the criminal courthouse for more lucrative jobs, while remaining stenographers will put these lower-paying transcripts on the back burner.
“The concern is that, psychologically, there will be less effort made. Reporters will stop proof-reading transcripts — they’ll have a you-get-what-you-pay-for attitude. And there will be delays,” said Rose Naccarato, president of Miami court reporting firm Goldman, Naccarato, Patterson and Vela Inc.
Court reporters, ubiquitous in most Miami-Dade courtrooms, have for decades silently tapped away on their stenography machines, filling the vital role of recording the dialogue of the defendants, lawyers, judges and witnesses.
They normally serve as independent contractors and are paid fees for their time in court, and in turn pay a certain percentage back to the agency they contract with. Most of their money is made on trial transcripts, usually used for appeals.
Nationwide, stenographers in court earn about $62,000 per year, according to the National Court Reporters Association. Collier estimates she’ll make about $45,000 this year.
The cuts come as the state is trying to rein in Constitutionally guaranteed “due process” costs — for court reporters, translators, expert witnesses — for poor defendants with court-appointed lawyers. In some state courts, digital recording equipment has replaced court reporters.
Defendants who cannot afford lawyers are first represented by the public defender’s office or the Regional Counsel office, which sometimes “conflict” off a case because they represent a co-defendant or a witness in a case. Then a private lawyer, paid for by the state, is appointed.
The Florida Court Reporters Association, which represents more than 700 members statewide, says it did not know of the rate change until shortly before the final appropriations bill was passed.
Florida’s Judicial Administrative Commission, which processes payments and recommended the new rate to the Senate, did not respond to requests for comment.
ONLY IN MIAMI-DADE
State Sen. Victor Crist, R-Tampa, chairman of the criminal and civil justice appropriations committee, said the new rate is in line with what is paid to federal court reporters. He added that rate has only drawn protests from Miami-Dade stenographers.
“Everybody needs to tighten their belt and work together to get through these tough times,” Crist said. “Miami-Dade is no different.”
In Molina’s case, he was accused of fatally shooting Jesse Reyes in the forehead in December 2007 in the 3400 block of Northwest 18th Avenue in Miami. In August 2009, a jury convicted him of second-degree murder; Molina, 41, is serving a life prison term.
“My client is the real loser because he’s sitting in jail on a life sentence, with no possibility of release — until I get a transcript,” said Molina’s defense lawyer, Andrew Rier.
Collier’s firm estimated it would cost about $5,000 to complete the transcript, which at about 1,100 pages would take three or four weeks to transcribe. Though Molina’s family paid Rier $6,800, the court granted the defendant $2,500 to help defray the cost of the transcript.
But Collier, who is assigned to the courtroom of Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler-Mendez, says she originally agreed to do the transcript before the new rate went into effect July 1.
Her months of refusal has even made its way to the Third District Court of Appeal, which told the trial court to consider sanctions if she did not produce the transcript.
SEEMINGLY UNFAIR
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bertila Soto, the chief administrative criminal court judge, sympathized with Collier at a hearing this month, saying the “court reporters got the short end of the stick.”
“But I have to follow the law, and I’m going to make you do the transcripts, and I apologize for that,” Soto told her.
Soto, in an interview, said her priority is protecting due process rights, but acknowledged that the cheaper rate — affecting only certain defendants — can be construed as unfair.
“No one wants their their family member sitting on an appeal and awaiting a trial transcript knowing that the fee is different for their family member,” Soto said.
As for Collier, she says if she completes the transcript, she’ll be losing out on $1,800, a sizable chunk considering she earned $20,000 less last year than the previous one. In recent years, the state has lagged in making payments, Collier said.
“It’s the worst it’s ever been. Any reporter will tell you that,” she said. “That’s why a lot of reporters are changing fields.”
