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                                      4.


                       Transcript - supplying 'clean water'



The transcript of a trial has been described by Seaman J as the 'clean water'
of court computerisation. In any long and complex trial, effective retrieval
of transcript is vital, and is usually the first aspect of a complex criminal
trail that is subject to computerisation. Numerous issues concerning the
provision of transcript and the operation of court reporting services go
beyond the scope of this Report. The Australian Institute of Judicial
Administration has commissioned a separate report by Gary Byron on all aspects
of Court Reporting. The concerns of this Report are limited to the following
matters which affect the use of information technology in complex trials: (i)
computer aided transcription (CAT) may aid the efficient production of
transcript; (ii) 'real time' CAT may make transcript available instantly for
text retrieval purposes; (iii) transcript needs to be provided in appropriate
computer-readable forms to be used effectively in litigation support programs;
and (iv) retrieval programs suitable for transcript are required.

A considerable number of court reporting services provide transcript services
in Australia, including Auscript (the Commonwealth Reporting Service), the
State and Territory reporting services of New South Wales, Queensland, South
Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the A.C.T., the State
reporting service in Victoria for criminal trials, independent contractors in
Victorian civil trials, and contractors to the Crown in Western Australia.



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