The PEOPLE v. Berman

In April, 1930, the defendant, Henry Berman, was tried by jury in the criminal court of Cook County for armed robbery, found guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of one year to life. His oral motion for a new trial was overruled.

Berman was represented by counsel appointed by the court, but no court reporter was provided to take shorthand notes of the trial proceedings. The record indicated that official shorthand reporters began their employment in the criminal court of Cook County on April 1, 1931. Prior thereto, a defendant in that court who desired to obtain the services of…