I do not know whether that is a good or a bad thing.I submit a request to the committee that it considers seriously the removal of shorthand notes as a means of recording in the civil court, and commences a bill to ensure the installation of appropriate digital receiving and recording equipment in all courts in all sheriffdoms for the purpose of recording all business at all times in all jurisdictions.On the basis of due process, and in the light of longstanding technologies that strengthen our case and make it forensically credible, it can be argued that sanctioning a person other than the appointed sheriff or law lord to record proceedings—for example, the clerk, stenographer or other court servant—weakens the principle of the judiciary's independence due to a perceived or real risk of human error or interference.I accept that there was a time when the current method of recording was a necessary weakness and the best...