COURT REPORTING

(a) Definitions.

(1) “Approved court reporter” means a court employee or contractor who performs court reporting services, including transcription, at public expense and who meets the court’s certification, training, and other qualifications for court reporting.

(2) “Approved transcriptionist” means a court employee, contractor, or other individual who performs transcription services at public expense and who meets the court’s certification, training, and other qualifications for transcribing proceedings.

(3) “Civil court reporter” means a court reporter who performs court reporting services in civil proceedings not required to be reported at public expense, and who meets the court’s certification, training, and other qualifications for court reporting.

(4) “Court reporting” means the act of making a verbatim record of the spoken word, whether by the use of written symbols, stenomask equipment, stenographic equipment, or electronic devices, in any proceedings pending in any of the courts of this state, including all related discovery, any proceedings reported for the court’s own use, and all proceedings required by statute to be reported by an approved court reporter or civil court reporter. It does not mean the act of taking witness statements not intended for use in court as substantive evidence.

(5) “Electronic record” means the audio, analog, digital, or video record of a court proceeding.

(6) “Official record” means the transcript, which is the written or electronically stored record of court proceedings and depositions prepared in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (f).

(b) Court Reporting in Proceedings Not Required to be Reported at Public Expense. Any proceeding that is not required to be reported at public expense may be reported on the request of any party. The requesting party must engage and pay the fees of a court reporter, but this requirement does not preclude the taxation of costs as authorized by law.

(c) Record. When trial proceedings are being reported, no part of the proceedings is omitted unless all of the parties agree and the court approves the agreement. When a deposition is being reported, no part of the proceedings may be omitted unless all of the parties and the witness agree. When a party or a witness seeks to terminate or suspend the taking of a deposition for the time necessary to seek a court order, the court reporter must discontinue reporting the testimony of the witness.

(d) Ownership of Records. The chief judge of the circuit in which a proceeding is pending, in the chief judge’s official capacity, is the owner of all records and electronic records made by an approved court reporter or quasi-judicial officer in proceedings required to be reported at public expense and proceedings reported for the court’s own use.

(e) Fees. The chief judge has the discretion to adopt an administrative order establishing maximum fees for court reporting services. The order must make a specific factual finding that the setting of maximum fees is necessary to ensure access to the courts. Findings must include consideration of the number of court reporters in the county or circuit, any past history of fee schedules, and any other relevant factors.

(f) Transcripts.

(1) Transcripts of all judicial proceedings and depositions must be uniform in and for all courts throughout the state and must be stored sufficient to communicate the information contained in proceedings in a readable format, and capable of being transmitted electronically in Portable Document Format (“PDF”) in compliance with all requirements set by the portal or other authorized electronic filing system.

(2) The form of all transcripts must conform to the following requirements:

(A) Transcripts must be printable on paper 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size.

(B) Each page must contain no fewer than 25 printed lines consecutively numbered, with no more than a double space between lines.

(C) Font size or print shall be 9 or 10 pica, 12-point courier, or 12-point Times New Roman print with no less than 56 characters per line on questions and answers unless the text of the speaker ends short of marginal requirements.

(D) Colloquy must begin on the same line following the identification of the speaker, with no more than 2 spaces between the identification of the speaker and the commencement of the colloquy. The identification of the speaker in colloquy must begin no more than 10 spaces from the left margin, and carry-over colloquy must be indented no more than 5 spaces from the left margin.

(E) Each question and answer must begin on a separate line no more than 5 spaces from the left margin with no more than 5 spaces from the “Q” or “A” to the text. Carry-over question and answer lines must be brought to the left margin.

(F) Quoted material must begin no more than 10 spaces from the left margin with carry-over lines beginning no more than 10 spaces from the left margin.

(G) Indentations of no more than 10 spaces may be used for paragraphs, and all spaces on a line must be used unless the text of the speaker ends short of marginal requirements.

(H) One-line parentheticals may begin at any indentation. Parentheticals exceeding 1 line must begin no more than 10 spaces from the left margin, with carry-over lines being returned to the left margin.

(3) Deviation from these standards is not grounds for limiting use of transcripts in court proceedings.

(g) Officers of the Court. Approved court reporters, civil court reporters, and approved transcriptionists are officers of the court for all purposes while acting as court reporters in judicial proceedings or discovery proceedings or as transcriptionists. Approved court reporters, civil court reporters, and approved transcriptionists must comply with all rules and statutes governing the proceeding that are applicable to court reporters and approved transcriptionists.

(h) Court Reporting Services at Public Expense.

(1) When Reporting Is Required. All proceedings required to be reported by law, court rule, or administrative order are reported at public expense.

(2) When Reporting May Be Required. Proceedings reported for the court’s own use may be reported at public expense.

(3) Circuit Plan. The chief judge must enter an administrative order developing and implementing a circuit-wide plan for the court reporting of all proceedings required to be reported at public expense using either full or part-time court employees or independent contractors after consultation with the circuit court and county court judges in the circuit. The plan must ensure that all court-required reporting services are provided by approved court reporters or approved transcriptionists. This plan may provide for multiple service delivery strategies if they are necessary to ensure the efficient provision of court reporting services. Each circuit’s plan for court reporting services is developed after consideration of guidelines issued by the Office of the State Courts Administrator.

(4) Electronic Recording and Transcription of Proceedings Without Court Reporters. A chief judge may enter and must have recorded a circuit-wide administrative order authorizing the electronic recording and subsequent transcription by approved court reporters or approved transcriptionists, of any judicial proceedings, including depositions, that are otherwise required to be reported by a court reporter. Appropriate procedures prescribed in the order must include:

(A) responsibilities for the court’s support personnel to ensure a reliable record of the proceedings;

(B) a means to have the recording transcribed by approved court reporters or approved transcriptionists, either in whole or in part, when necessary for an appeal or for further use in the trial court; and

(C) the safekeeping of the recordings.

(5) Safeguarding Confidential Communications When Electronic Recording Equipment Is Used in the Courtroom.

(A) Court personnel must provide notice to participants in a courtroom proceeding that electronic recording equipment is in use and the participants should safeguard information they do not want recorded.

(B) Attorneys must take all reasonable and available precautions to protect disclosure of confidential communications in the courtroom. Precautions may include muting microphones or going to a designated location that is inaccessible to the recording equipment.

(C) Participants have a duty to protect confidential information.

(6) Grand Jury Proceedings. Testimony in grand jury proceedings must be reported by an approved court reporter, but cannot be transcribed unless required by court order. Other parts of grand jury proceedings, including deliberations and voting, must not be reported. The approved court reporter’s work product, including stenographic notes, electronic recordings, and transcripts, are filed with the clerk of the court under seal.

(i) Court Reporting Services in Capital Cases. The chief judge enters an administrative order developing and implementing a circuit-wide plan for court reporting in all trials in which the state seeks the death penalty and in capital postconviction proceedings after consultation with the circuit court judges in the circuit. The plan must prohibit the use of digital court reporting as the court reporting system and require the use of all measures necessary to expedite the preparation of the transcript including, but not limited to, the:

(1) use of an approved court reporter who has the capacity to provide real-time transcription of the proceedings, if available;

(2) use of a computer-aided transcription qualified court reporter if real-time transcription services are not available;

(3) use of scopists, text editors, alternating court reporters, or other means to expedite the finalization of the certified transcript; and

(4) imposition of reasonable restrictions on work assignments by employee or contract approved court reporters to ensure that transcript production in capital cases is given a priority.

(j) Juvenile Dependency and Termination of Parental Rights Cases. Transcription of hearings for appeals of orders in juvenile dependency and termination of parental rights cases are given priority, consistent with rule 2.215(g), over transcription of all other proceedings, unless otherwise ordered by the court based upon a demonstrated exigency.