(Des Moines) Iowa House District #18 Republican Representative Tom Moore of Griswold says Chief Justice Susan Christensen told Iowa Lawmakers on Wednesday of the shortage of court reporters.
Moore says this issue is being addressed by forming the Court Reporter Utilization Committee of judges, court reporters, and judicial staff to develop solutions.
Moore says the second issue is the shortage of contract attorneys. These private attorneys enter a contract with the state public defender to provide criminal defense counsel another constitutional right. Iowa has nearly 10,000 licensed attorneys, with about 5,000 practicing the law full-time. Yet there are less than 600 contract attorneys, about 12% of the total 10,000 active attorneys.
Districts are looking into changing court service days to help lighten the burden on contract attorneys in Iowa.
