Feb. 02--In a legal drama that is delaying a dozen criminal trials -- including two Death Penalty cases -- a Miami-Dade court reporter was ordered arrested Wednesday after she failed to appear in court to explain why her firm can't transcribe a slew of depositions.
The court reporter: Roseann McMahon, whose company had been employed from 2008 to 2011 to digitally record depositions for a state-funded law firm representing poor clients.
McMahon, of Fort Lauderdale, had been ordered to court three times over the past month, each time to no avail.
"I need to know a reason why Ms. McMahon is not here," Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bertila Soto, the chief criminal administrative judge, told her lawyer Wednesday. "The court is beginning to think she is never coming in and she is wasting everyone's time. Has she considered that there are defendants who are sitting in custody because they can't get transcripts?"
Soto ordered a "writ of bodily attachment" against McMahon, which allows Miami-Dade police officers to arrest her and bring her before the court. As of Wednesday night, McMahon was not in custody.
McMahon's attorney, Albert Cartenuto, told the judge he would move "heaven and earth" to arrange transportation to get her to court soon.
The news comes as Florida courtroom stenographers -- who traditionally keep paper notes of court proceedings -- are resisting moves to use digital recorders to capture the words of judges, lawyers, defendants and witnesses.
During the past year, officials have wired all courtrooms at Miami-Dade's criminal courthouse and in the next few months, five courtrooms at Miami-Dade's criminal courthouse will begin using digital recorders during the daily morning calendar sessions.
Court reporters in criminal court have also complained that plunging rates paid by the state have driven away experienced stenographers while pushing less qualified people to monitor digital recordings that are easily lost and don't always accurately capture important dialogue.
Florida does not certify court reporters.
"It's not the same level of professionalism when you're talking about these people who use digital recorders," said stenographer Rosa Naccarato, a board member of the Florida Court Reporters Association. "This is a good example of why we could really use certification in the state of Florida."
Jailing court reporters is rare. In 2007, a Broward judge briefly jailed a stenographer for contempt of court for failing to produce the transcript of a trial needed for an appeal.
McMahon was hired to digitally record depositions for Miami's Regional Conflict Counsel office, created by state lawmakers in 2007 to defend clients who cannot afford an attorney and who cannot be represented by the Public Defender's Office because of a conflict of interest.
In Florida, defense lawyers are allowed to take depositions -- sworn on-the-record interviews -- in preparation for trial. Prosecutors can also depose defense witnesses.
Transcripts of depositions are important to help lawyers determine inconsistencies of witnesses, and gauge their credibility.
According to the office, McMahon has failed to turn over transcripts or recordings of depositions in a dozen cases that are ready for trial. And because McMahon's firm also recorded depositions for scores of other cases, the loss of more transcripts could be discovered in the coming months.
The dozen cases on hold for now include several attempted murder cases, plus cases of two men facing murder charges and possible execution.
If the transcripts or recordings cannot be found, judges might be forced to order new depositions, which would cost taxpayers extra and inflict an emotional toll on victims and witnesses already grilled once by lawyers.
In a court hearing earlier this month, Cartenuto said the recordings are not lost but rather stored in an online server that cannot be accessed unless payments are made. He blamed McMahon's woes on mismanagement of the former head of the office, Joseph P. George, who left last year under a cloud of controversial decisions.
Kellie Peterson, the officer's current Chief Assistant Regional Counsel, was not satisfied with that answer.
"We have been hearing those representations directly from Ms. McMahon for over a year," Peterson told the judge on Wednesday.
Copyright 2012 - The Miami Herald
