Eight months after the unveiling of the Freeman Justice Center, efforts are under way to improve the acoustics in the courtrooms amid complaints that court reporters are having trouble hearing in the $18.1 million facility.

Some court reporters, workers who transcribe legal proceedings, have complained that they are having difficulty hearing attorneys, witnesses and others in the new courtrooms.

The issue became more apparent during the Duck Tours Seafari trial in February, which resulted in Key West paying the company $8 million in damages for lost revenue. That case was heard in Courtroom A, the largest of the new courtrooms in the Freeman Justice Center, but complaints are coming in from all the courtrooms.

Court reporter Marty LeShaw said attorneys on both sides and the judge remarked during the Duck Tours trial that they couldn't hear each other. After trial, LeShaw began talking with Trial Court Administrator Holly Elomina about how to rectify the problem.

"The courtroom is so large all you could hear was muffled voices," LeShaw said.

LeShaw has been working as a court reporter for 40 years and is currently a freelance court reporter based in Key West.

"In that time I've never had this kind of problem and I'm seasoned, I've been doing this a long time," LeShaw said.

Fellow freelance court reporter Cathy Webster also complained that acoustics must be improved.

"We're supposed to hear every word that's spoken and it's very difficult to hear," Webster said. "I have trouble hearing in all the courtrooms, but some are worse than others. Courtroom A is the really bad one. I've been doing this for 30 years, and it's very frustrating to not hear every word. It's made our job much more difficult."

Elomina said she's been aware of the issue and has brought in a sound engineer to evaluate the acoustics. Those efforts are still under way, and the cost of any fix is still up in the air, Elomina said.

"He's still doing preliminary work and it may be a microphone problem," she said. "The engineer is coming back with some new mics to see if that solves the problem. If the new mics don't resolve this, we are looking at other options."

Robert Lyne of Frontline Fx Inc. in Marathon said he plans on installing an alternative sound system this week.

"That should give us some indication of what's going on," Lyne said. "The current sound system is set up with much of the speakers over spectators and not the jury and court reporter."

Lyne said he's also looking at changing speaker configurations that would use the barren walls to his advantage.

"I also want to hang a sound curtain in the back wall to see what's going on," Lyne said. "What I'm going to have to do is test for one problem and then move on the next until we get a clear picture of what's going on."

One such option is hanging artwork throughout the courtrooms, possibly from Art in Public Places, Elomina said. Courtroom A would get artwork first and the other courtrooms would follow, but that option is still being researched, Elomina said.

Another solution may be to hang large curtains designed to improve acoustics, such as those in movie theaters. The problem with that option would be the cost, as the county remains in a budget crunch, Elomina said.

"We're so budget conscious right now and everyone is happy to be in the new courthouse," Webster said. "I just don't know how much money they have to fix the problem. I think hanging some art and drapes would help, but relying on people speaking into microphones wouldn't work. Some people just don't like using mics and we still have to hear them."

Whatever course of action is taken, LeShaw said time is of the essence.

"If I can't produce a record, a lawyer can lose his right to an appeal," LeShaw said. "Lawyers hire us to have a record and if we can't provide that, then our livelihood is on the line."

alinhardt@keysnews.com