For more than a week the most common phrase on the lips of Mercer County jurors, litigators and the court stenographer has not been "objection," "sustained" or "overruled."

Everyone taking part in the Paula Parker malpractice case is asking each other, "Say that again?"

Mercer County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Wherry's courtroom, where the trial is being held, was recently renovated. Acoustic tiles were removed, carpeting was added, and speakers were installed.

All this was done, Wherry has said, without an acoustical study to determine the effects on the courtroom's echoes.

Lawyers have to make sure they are directly facing the jury and the court reporter at all times; jurors, who sit closer than 10 feet from the witness stand, say they can't hear testimony; a witness Tuesday lugged around a microphone so his testimony could be understood.

On March 5, Wherry wrote to county commissioners alerting them to the malpractice case and the problems in his courtroom. After recounting the multiple efforts to improve the acoustics, all with no effect, an exasperated Wherry wrote, "I next expect that the county is going to hire the services of a couple of druids to utter magic incantations and fling magic powders about the courtroom to drive away the evil spirits that are creating the problem."

Wherry wrote he was concerned the lack of sound quality would hinder justice in the case.

"The courtroom is useless as a forum for serious litigation," he wrote, saying the constant asking of witnesses and counsel to halt and repeat what they say raises serious concerns about carrying out due process in his courtroom.