I am in my twentieth year of practicing law here in Indiana. All but two of those years I have handled criminal appeals and petitions for post-conviction relief. So obtaining transcripts and audio recordings from court reporters is something I know a lot about.

Before electronic court filing, a request for a transcript had to be served by snail mail on the court reporter. This required the attorney to know the name of the court reporter responsible for the transcript, and this information was not always easy to find :) After Indiana moved to electronic filing, attorneys filed transcript requests with the court reporter by email. Even though it saved us from using paper, we still had to know the name of the court reporter responsible for the transcript. And we also had to know the court reporter’s personal email address, which many did not like to give out.

Thankfully, transcript requests made through the filing of a notice of appeal are now served on the court reporter by the Appellate Clerk. This has cured some headaches but caused another: once I file the notice of appeal with the Appellate Clerk, I do not know for sure whether the court reporter actually received a copy of the notice. Sure, the Appellate Clerk makes a service notation on the docket, but court reporters tell me that does not mean they actually receive notice.

In my post-conviction relief practice, there have been a few occasions where I needed to know what happened during a hearing, but I did not need a certified transcript. Or I needed to compare a prepared transcript to the actual audio recording, because the client believed there was a discrepancy. Until the recent change in the court rules that I discussed previously (here), court reporters either denied the request altogether (demanding I pay for preparation of a transcript) or required me to drive to their county and sit in chambers to listen to the audio recording.

Finally, not to pick on one particular county, but the largest county in Indiana (Marion) was notorious for delays in obtaining transcripts and audio recordings. Such delays can be expected in a county handling so many cases, but lack of communication was the source of great frustration. A request landed in a voicemail or email inbox, and you never knew whether it had been received by the right person.

Recently I handled a private criminal appeal in Marion County, which now uses TheRecordXchange (TRX). Obtaining the transcript for the appeal through TRX was effortless. After creating an account through the website, I was able to place an order for the transcript simply by inputting the cause number and the dates of the hearings I wished to have transcribed. I promptly received a confirmation that TRX had received my order. Almost immediately after submitting my order, TRX discovered an error in one of the hearing dates I requested and sent me a message for clarification. The messages were sent to my email address on file, and I could see a log of my communication with TRX by signing into my account.

Throughout the transcript preparation process, TRX maintains this log of all communications between TRX, you, and the court reporter. TRX also provides status updates, so you know when the court reporter receives the order and when it is completed. You can communicate directly with the court reporter through TRX, without needing to contact the court for information. No more wondering whether the court reporter received your request.

In other counties when the transcript is completed, I often must contact the court reporter or trial court clerk to request an electronic copy of the transcript. With TRX, you are notified by email when the transcript is complete, and it provides a link to download the files. Again…the service was nearly effortless.

And in Marion County, parties can obtain a copy of an audio-recorded hearing for free. I decided to request an audio recording to see how that process works. It was also a breeze. First, I logged into my account and filled out a form to request a particular recording. I decided to request a brief seven-minute hearing. From making the request to receiving the audio recording, I waited just over 24 hours. From prior experience, if I had done this directly through a court reporter it could have taken weeks. And again, I was not left wondering whether my request had even been received. TRX maintains a log of the request and provides the user with status updates throughout the process.

When I received notice to my email inbox that the audio recording was ready, I signed in to my account and clicked on the “Player” tab. Under the audio file was a link to “VoiceCopy.” When I clicked the link, I was pleasantly surprised. VoiceCopy contained an ASR-generated transcript of the audio file I had requested. Not only was the transcript time-stamped, as you listen to the audio file the transcript automatically follows the audio by highlighting the corresponding portion of the transcript. And I could cut and paste the transcript into a Word document for printing.

One final note about TRX. In the practice of criminal law, attorneys will receive as part of the case file audio and video recorded copies of interrogations, witness interviews, body cam footage, etc. Having a court reporter service transcribe these is not only expensive but takes time. I searched for a service that would allow me to upload files and receive a transcript quickly, and I could only find one that would. But the service required a high monthly subscription fee that you paid regardless of whether you used the service that month or not.

But last week I discovered TRX performs this service. The user can upload an audio file through an order form, and for a fee (depending on how long the audio is) TRX will provide an ASR-generated transcript. No monthly subscription service either; you just pay as you use the service. For a small firm like me, this may be a game changer.

Overall, my experience using TRX was very positive. I only wish more Indiana counties implemented it, as it would save a lot of administrative time for law firms.