The County Council approved a transfer to buy seven electronic notepads for judges and judicial staff to replace heavy use of paper notes and simplify recordkeeping.

A judge explained to the council that electronic notepads “recognize handwriting,” “turn handwriting into type,” and “automatically save it as a PDF,” which reduces staff time spent scanning handwritten notes into the court record. The judge said each device costs about $650 and seven devices will cost just over $4,700; the council approved the transfer to the equipment fund to complete the purchase.

Councilors discussed that one judge had been using a personal Kindle for note-taking; the approved purchase provides purpose-built devices for official use so staff do not need to scan paper notes into the court’s Odyssey system. The transfer was moved, seconded and approved on roll-call vote.

The devices are intended for judges, the master commissioner and a magistrate; the judge estimated three of the seven would be used immediately and the remainder would come into use later. The funding move was recorded in the council’s transfers and appropriations and will be implemented by the courts.