Court reporters have been almost entirely replaced by digital recordings in New Jersey courtrooms, The Record reported.

About 400 courtrooms have taken to using digital devices, while the number of court reporters has shrunk to about 50. State judiciary officials said those 50 remaining courtrooms would be fitted with the recording equipment by September.

The move was largely driven by financial concerns. Amid nationwide budget cuts, digital recordings are cheap means of fulfilling the legal requirement that all court proceedings be recorded.
Court reporters were replaced largely through attrition. Rather than re-hiring a court reporter with an average salary of $50,000 to $60,000 per year, the high-tech digital recording systems are installed for about $15,000 to $18,000 per courtroom.

Wait till courtroom lawyers can be replaced with robots!