An Arapahoe County court reporter who quit her job without completing 10 courtroom transcriptions has lost an appeal of her contempt-of-court citation and could face jail.
Court reporter Valerie Barnes will request that the Colorado Supreme Court review Thursday’s decision, said her attorney, David Lane.
Barnes quit her job in 2002 while struggling with breast cancer, leaving convictions in 10 violent crimes in jeopardy. Others can’t decipher her idiosyncratic shorthand. The defendants appealed the convictions, but the cases could not be sent to the Court of Appeals without the testimony transcriptions.
Barnes underwent surgery and chemotherapy and continues to suffer lingering effects of her illness and treatment, according to the ruling. However, a judge ruled in November 2004 that she has the “duty and ability” to finish the transcripts.
Transcriptions from eight of the 10 cases were deemed “substantially complete” by a judge this week and moved to the Court of Appeals after Barnes helped other court reporters decipher her notes until August 2004, when she announced she could not longer assist. The judge also ruled this week that the defendants’ constitutional rights to a speedy trial had not been violated.
But two sexual-assault cases remain in limbo until 1,300 pages of Barnes’ courtroom notes can be transcribed.
“If it’s getting done and no one’s rights are being violated, why do they need her?” Lane said.
Without Barnes’ help, the transcriptions will be 50 percent to 80 percent accurate and will take up to a year to finish, said 18th Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers.
Staff writer Dave Curtin can be reached at 303-820-1276 or dcurtin@denverpost.com.
