A newspaper serving the Bahamas recently reported that a man accused of drug possession was granted a stay in his case pending the outcome of his constitutional motion to be heard in the Supreme Court because a magistrate could not comply with his request to have a stenographer present for his trial. The Bahamian government recently replaced stenographic court reporters with digital recording in a move that was heavily criticized by the local bar association, noting problems encountered by other jurisdictions that had adopted the same change. The country’s Supreme Court is currently reviewing whether the rights for the accused man to have a stenographic court reporter present to record the trial’s proceedings complies with his right to a fair trial guaranteed under the Bahama’s constitution.
