The recent stories about the lack of transcripts available for Court of Appeal cases raise a number of issues about justice in Bermuda and how it is carried out.The problem is not isolated to the Court of Appeal. Some cases in the Supreme Court and especially in Magistrates’ Court continue to be recorded in long hand by the judge or magistrate.This is not only laborious and time consuming, but it is also risky. While judges and magistrates become expert in recording an accurate record, the possibility of error or accidental omission must exist.The primary reason for an accurate record is because of the possibility of an appeal. If the judge’s written record of the trial is accurate, then that’s fine. But there are times when appeals, which are supposed to deal mainly with points of law, become arguments over what was said during the case. And the absence of a verbatim transcript can exacerbate the problem. There have also been a number of accusations against judges that they ignored points raised by parties to the case, or treated people with disdain. These accusations have been made when people are acting for themselves rather than appearing with a lawyer. It may be that barristers know that if they make a weak argument, or are wrong on a point of law, they risk being batted down, where people appearing on their own behalf are not expecting it.But it is also true that the Court of Appeal deals mainly with points of law and is not there to reargue a case. Non-lawyers do not always understand this, and this can lead to frustration on the parts of the judges and those appearing before them.The main objection to verbatim reports is cost. It takes time both to record a case and to create a written transcript, and time is money. Still, the Supreme Court has been using a system called Court Smart to record trails for some time now, and it has proven to be very helpful, both for speeding up proceedings and for ensuring there is an accurate recording of proceedings.If cost is the issue, it should no the. The savings both for speeding up proceedings and avoiding disagreements will offset the cost.And in the long run, having a verbatim record will enhance the reputation of both the Appeals Court and Bermuda as a sophisticated and up to date jurisdiction.