Centralized System
Courtroom Audio Capture
Prior to the advent of this technology, each courtroom had a person, or recording device such as a tape recorder, responsible for making the record. One person, usually a court reporter for each courtroom, was required to be physically present in a courtroom in order to make the record. CourtSmart changes that paradigm to allow one person, centrally located to concurrently control multiple courtrooms. It is this saving in personnel, along with the ability to quickly access any past or present proceeding, that serves as the basis to justify new technology.
Centralized System Recording 26 Courtrooms
From the courtroom, the Centralized System starts with the seamless integration of microphones at key locations (Judge, Witness, Prosecution, Defense, Jury, etc.). All of the audio signals are sent back to the control center where the primary system digitizes the audio and stores it. The primary system is expandable and is currently handling recording loads of more than 100 rooms at a time. The control room also houses the workstations where the system is controlled. Using the workstation, each user controls up to 4 courtrooms and annotates along the way.
Central Control Room
The centralization of recording facilities allows optimization of personnel
(typically one monitor being required for every three or four courtrooms) and
hardware. Typically, installations have achieved a return of investment in six
to twelve months.