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The Freestone County district courts' local rules on electronically recorded proceedings: no stenographic record is required of proceedings that are electronically recorded; the court designates court recorders and sets their duties (a complete and transcribable recording, a detailed log, filing the log and exhibits with the clerk and delivering a certified copy of the recording to the court within ten days, storage, restricted access to the original recording, certified copies on payment); the reporter's record on appeal is the certified recording with the designated exhibits, filed with the court of appeals within fifteen days after the appeal is perfected; each party files with its brief an appendix transcribing the portions of the record relevant to its issues; the appellate court may presume that nothing omitted is relevant and may order a supplemental appendix; the court recorder transcribes for a party unable to afford costs; disputes over accuracy are settled by agreement, by the appellate court's review of the recording, or by the trial court after notice and hearing; appendix costs are taxed as costs.
Texas > Tenth Administrative Judicial Region > Freestone County > the 77th and 87th District Courts. Civil and criminal proceedings in those courts in Freestone County in which the record is made by electronic audio or audio-visual recording, and appellate records prepared from them.
RULES GOVERNING THE PROCEDURE FOR MAKING A RECORD OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL COURT PROCEEDINGS IN THE 77TH AND 87TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTS OF FREESTONE COUNTY, TEXAS, BY ELECTRONIC RECORDING 1. Application. The following rules govern the procedures in the 77th and 87th Judicial District Courts in Freestone County, Texas, in proceedings – including criminal and civil matters – in which a record is made by electronic audio or audio-visual recording, as well as appellate records prepared from such proceedings. 2. Duties of Court Recorder(s). No stenographic record shall be required of any proceedings that are electronically recorded. The Court shall designate one or more persons as court recorders, whose duties shall include: a. Ensuring that the recording system is functioning properly throughout the proceeding and that a complete, distinct, clear and transcribable recording is made; b. Making a detailed, legible log for all proceedings being recorded, indexed by the date and location of each event being recorded, and showing the number and style of the proceeding before the court, the correct name of each person speaking, the nature of the proceeding (e.g. voir dire, opening, examination of witness, cross-examination, argument, bench conferences, etc.), the time of the day of each event and, the offer, admission or exclusion of all exhibits; c. Filing with the clerk the original log and exhibits after a proceeding ends, and within ten days, delivering to the court a certified copy of the recording of the proceeding that is appropriately labeled as required herein, to be stored at the court; d. Storing or providing for storing of the electronic audio or audio-visual recording to ensure it is preserved as required by law and accessible; e. Prohibiting or providing for prohibition of access by any person to the original recording without written order of the presiding judge of the court; f. Preparing or obtaining a certified copy of the original recording of any proceeding, any of the exhibits the parties to the appeal designate, and certified copies of the original log, upon full payment of charge imposed therefor, at the request of any person entitled to such recording, or at the direction of the judge of the court, or at the direction of any appellate judge who is presiding over any matter involving the same proceeding, subject to the laws of this state, rules of procedure and the instructions of the presiding Judge of the court; and g. Performing such other duties as may be directed by the presiding judge or the appellate court presiding over the case and prescribed by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Uniform Format Manual for Texas Reporters’ Records. 3. Reporter’s Record. The reporter’s record on appeal from any proceeding of which an electronic recording has been made shall be labeled to reflect clearly the numbered contents certified by the court recorder to be a clear and accurate copy of the original recording of the entire proceedings. Any exhibits designated by the parties for inclusion in the reporter’s record shall be arranged in numerical order and firmly bound together so far as practicable, together with an index consisting of a brief description identifying each exhibit. 4. Time for Filing. The court recorder shall file the reporter’s record with the court of appeals within fifteen days after the perfection of an appeal. No other filing deadlines as set in the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure are changed. 5. Appendix. Each party shall file with its brief, an appendix containing a written transcription of all portions of the recorded reporter’s record and a copy of all exhibits relevant to the issues raised on appeal. Transcriptions shall be presumed to be accurate unless objection is made. The form of the appendix and transcription shall conform to any specifications of the Supreme Court and/or the Court of Criminal Appeals and comply with the Order Directing the Form of the Appellate Record and the Uniform Format Manual for Texas Reporters’ Records. 6. Presumption. The appellate court shall have no duty to review any part of an electronic audio or audio-visual recording and may presume that nothing omitted from the transcriptions in the appendices is relevant to any issues raised or to the disposition of the appeal. 7. Supplemental Appendix. The appellate court may direct a party to file a supplemental appendix containing a written transcription of additional portions of the recorded reporter’s record. 8. Inability to Afford. If a party is unable to afford costs, the court recorder must transcribe or have transcribed the recorded reporter’s record and file the transcription as that party’s appendix, along with all exhibits. 9. Accuracy. Any inaccuracies in the transcriptions of the recorded reporter’s record may be corrected by agreement of the parties. Should any dispute arise after the reporter’s record or appendices are filed as to whether an electronic audio or audio-visual recording or any transcription of it accurately disclosed what occurred in the trial court, the appellate court may resolve the dispute by reviewing the audio or audio-visual recording, or submit the matter to the trial court which shall, after notice to the parties and hearing, settle the dispute and make the reporter’s record or transcription conform to what occurred in the trial court. 10. Costs. The expense of appendices shall be taxed as costs at the rate prescribed by law. The appellate court may disallow the cost of portions of appendices that is considers surplusage or that does not conform to any specifications prescribed by the Supreme Court and/or Court of Criminal Appeals. 11. Other provisions. Except to the extent inconsistent with these rules, all other statutes and rules governing the procedures in civil and criminal actions shall continue to apply to those proceedings of which a record is made by electronic audio or audio-visual recording. The Rules Governing the Procedure for Making a Record of Civil and Criminal Court Proceedings in the 77th and 87th Judicial District Courts of Freestone County, Texas, by Electronic Recording shall become effective on April 27, 2023. [signature] JUDGE PATRICK H. SIMMONS 77TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT [signature] JUDGE AMY THOMAS WARD 87TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
RULES GOVERNING THE PROCEDURE FOR MAKING A RECORD OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL COURT PROCEEDINGS IN THE 77TH AND 87TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURTS OF FREESTONE COUNTY, TEXAS, BY ELECTRONIC RECORDING 1. Application. The following rules govern the procedures in the 77th and 87th Judicial District Courts in Freestone County, Texas, in proceedings – including criminal and civil matters – in which a record is ma
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-19 (AJR-10 Tenth Region build) from BenchPath custody sources/registered/1336.pdf (application/pdf, 1023272 bytes, sha256 d7bfeca0a2e1fac5b4582bd21737dc5140fa5b618c31904fba60f288a0a6e224; 3 pages) - the TOPICs-registered document: transcribed by eye from the rendered pages of the scanned PDF (no text layer in the file was relied on), machine OCR draft corrected page by page; signature and file-stamp blocks bracketed. Three-page scan read by eye; typed from the pages and diffed against an independent OCR pass. No file stamp and no approval order of the Supreme Court or the Court of Criminal Appeals is attached to the registered copy. Printed as on the instrument: 'portions of appendices that is considers surplusage' (item 10). The Freestone County Court adopted rules in almost the same words four days later (TOPICs 1515); they differ in item 1 and item 2.c and are published separately. The 77th's signing judge of 2023 is not the judge who signs that court's 2025 orders (TOPICs 2179, 2216); no judge join.