Helen Sage reports

Official court reporters at the Rosemary West case are using the same transcription system as those used in the OJ Simpson trial.

Case View for Windows is provided by W Lloyd Woodland at Winchester Crown Court, making it the first time the Windows-based product has been used for a major trial in this country.

The system displays transcripts of the three trial stenographers' notes on the screens of all legal counsel as they are written. The system provides instant access to scroll through past and current testimony, search and find, mark and annotate testimony and issue code proceedings for later reference to allow advocates to manage trial information

Fred Bartlit, senior partner at US firm Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott, has used Case View in the US courts. "We use Case View for real time applications. It is not just a novelty. It takes a lot of time and expense out of trial procedures," he said. "With Case View you can walk out of the deposition or courtroom and have a well annotated and abstracted document that you can use immediately."