THE COURTS
CARBON COUNTY
Adoption of New Local Rules of Judicial Administration Governing Court Reporting and Transcripts; No. 16-3551; 16-9388; CP-13-AD-0000007-2016; 1DR2016
[46 Pa.B. 8024]
[Saturday, December 24, 2016]
Administrative Order 18-2016 And Now, this 1st day of December, 2016, it is hereby
Ordered and Decreed that effective January 1, 2017, the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas adopts the following local rules governing court reporting and transcripts for the 56th Judicial District.
The Carbon County District Court Administrator is Ordered and Directed to do the following:
1. File one (1) copy to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts via email to adminrules@pacourts.us.
2. File two (2) paper copies and one (1) electronic copy in a Microsoft Word format only to bulletin@palrb.us with the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3. Publish these Rules in the Carbon County Law Journal and on the Carbon County Court website at www.carboncourts.com.
4. Forward one (1) copy to the Carbon County Library.
5. Incorporate these rules into the set of local rules on www.carboncourts.com within thirty (30) days after the publication of these rules in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
6. File one (1) copy of these rules in the appropriate filing office for public inspection and copying.
By the Court
ROGER N. NANOVIC,
President Judge
LOCAL RULES OF JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION Rule 101. Title and Citation.
These Rules shall be known as the Carbon County Rules of Judicial Administration and may be cited as ''C.C.R.J.A.- .''
Rule 4007. Submitting and Processing Transcript Requests—Local Rule.
A. Transcript Requests:
1. All requests for transcripts shall be set forth on the standardized form provided by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.
2. The request form shall be submitted to the District Court Administrator with copies to the Presiding Judge, the court reporter and opposing counsel/unrepresented party.
3. Upon receipt of a transcript request, the court reporter shall provide the District Court Administrator and the requesting party with an estimated cost of the transcript requested and except where the Court or County is responsible for the cost, shall notify the requesting party to submit a check payable to the County of Carbon in an amount of no less than one-half of the estimated total cost. Said check shall be delivered to the District Court Administrator. Upon receipt of this deposit, the District Court Administrator will notify the court reporter to prepare the transcript.
4. When the transcript is completed, the court reporter shall so notify the District Court Administrator and the requesting party of this fact and of the final balance due. A check payable to the County of Carbon for the final balance due shall be delivered to the District Court Administrator by the requesting party. Upon receipt of the final balance due, the District Court Administrator will notify the court reporter to file the transcript in the appropriate filing office and provide copies to the parties.
5. All checks submitted for transcripts shall be forwarded by the District Court Administrator to the appropriate filing office where the original case file is located. Said filing office shall deposit and record the transcript costs paid and shall forward the funds to the County of Carbon.
6. Any request by a litigant for a transcript pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 4007(E) alleging inability to pay due to economic hardship must be directed to the Presiding Judge for determination as provided in Rule 4008(B) and shall be accompanied by a proposed order granting the requested relief.
7. All production of transcripts by the court reporters shall be in compliance with Pa.R.J.A. Rules 4001 et seq.
8. In addition to the filing requirements of Rule 4006(F) (matters on appeal), court reporters shall file a separate monthly report with the District Court Administrator of all ordered or requested transcripts for matters not under appeal on a form to be provided by the District Court Administrator. On this form, the court reporters shall report on the status of each request or order for a transcript of court proceedings in chronological order starting with the earliest request or order made to the most recent.
Rule 4008. Transcript Costs Payable by a Requesting Party—Local Rule.
A. Transcript Costs:
1. The charge to a requesting party for transcripts of judicial proceedings in the Courts of Carbon County prepared by a court reporter shall be as follows:
a. For a requesting party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision of this Commonwealth when the transcript is provided in electronic format:
(1) $2.50 per page for an ordinary transcript;
(2) $3.50 per page for an expedited transcript (when available);
(3) $4.50 per page for daily transcript (when available); and
(4) $6.50 per page for same day delivery for transcripts delivered within six (6) hours of the close of the court session (when available).
Any transcript prepared in bound paper format shall include a $0.25 per page surcharge.
b. For the Commonwealth or a Political Subdivision of this Commonwealth when the transcript is provided in electronic format:
(1) $2.00 per page for an ordinary transcript, plus $1.00 per page for a copy requested by a party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision (provided that if more than one such party requests a copy, the aggregate cost of these copies to all requesting parties shall not exceed $2.50 per page);
(2) $3.00 per page for an expedited transcript (when available), plus $1.00 per page for a copy requested by a party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision (provided that if more than one such party requests a copy, the aggregate cost of these copies to all requesting parties shall not exceed $3.50 per page);
(3) $4.00 per page for a daily transcript (when available), plus $1.00 per page for a copy requested by a party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision (provided that if more than one such party requests a copy, the aggregate cost of these copies to all requesting parties shall not exceed $4.50 per page); and
(4) $5.00 per page for same day delivery for transcripts delivered within six (6) hours of the close of the court session (when available), plus $1.00 per page for a copy requested by a party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision (provided that if more than one such party requests a copy, the aggregate cost of these copies to all requesting parties shall not exceed $6.50 per page).
Any transcript prepared in bound paper format shall include a $0.25 per page surcharge.
c. For cases such as mass tort, medical malpractice or unusually complex litigation for which court reporters need to significantly expand their dictionary, upon certification of this need by the court reporter and approval by the presiding trial judge, a surcharge of $0.25 per page will be added to the foregoing rates charged the requesting party.
2. The charge for a rough draft transcript of judicial proceedings in the Courts of Carbon County prepared by a court reporter is hereby set at $1.00 per page for an ordinary draft and $2.25 per page for a daily rough draft (when available).
3. For any party who requests real time transmission of the court reporter's translated notes instantaneously by an electronic feed to a laptop, tablet, phone or other portable electronic device via cable, Wi-Fi, router or Bluetooth, the party, media or other interested individual making such request (after first checking with the District Court Administrator that real time transmission is available) shall (1) file their request with the District Court Administrator a minimum of fourteen days in advance of the proceeding; (2) be required to cover the cost of the electronic connection to accommodate such request; and (3) be charged a fee of $150.00 for each half day or less of transcription services provided by the court reporters and $300.00 for each day in which the proceedings exceed a half day.
B. Waiver/Reduction of Transcript Costs:
1. Ordinary transcripts requested by litigants in matters under appeal or where the transcript is necessary to advance the litigation who meet the minimum standards for economic hardship pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 4008(B)(1) and (B)(2) shall attach to their transcript request an affidavit in support of any request to waive all or a portion of the transcription costs.
2. The cost for ordinary transcripts in matters that are not under appeal or where the transcript is not necessary to advance the litigation, and the cost for expedited, daily, rough draft or same day delivery transcripts (when available) to litigants who meet the minimum standards for economic hardship pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 4008(B)(1) and (B)(2) and who request a waiver or reduction in transcript fees shall have attached to the transcript request an affidavit in support of any request to waive all or a portion of the costs of transcription. Costs may be waived at the Court's discretion upon good cause shown.
3. The affidavit required by Subsection (B)(1) and (B)(2) shall be in substantially the form required by Pa.R.C.P. 240(h).
4. Litigants who have been approved for representation by legal aid services shall not be required to prove economic hardship and shall be entitled to obtain ordinary transcripts at no cost. Legal aid services must provide to the Presiding Judge and attach to their transcript request a letter of certification verifying in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 4008(B) that the represented client meets financial eligibility and that the matter is under appeal or that the transcript being requested is necessary to advance the current litigation.
C. Cost for Copies of Filed Transcripts:
1. Any requests for copies of transcripts that have been previously ordered, transcribed and filed of record shall be provided by the filing office at the following copy rates, which funds shall be turned over to the County of Carbon:
a. $0.75 per page bound, paper format; and
b. $0.50 per page electronic copy.
Rule 4009. Compensation to be Paid to Court Reporters—Local Rule.
A. In accordance with Pa.R.J.A. 4009, requiring the promulgation and publishing of a local rule establishing the fees to be paid for all court reporting products and the comment following Pa.R.J.A. 4007, the following amounts shall be paid to court reporters for their professional services as indicated below:
1. For transcripts requested by a party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision, court reporters shall be paid for their professional services an amount equal to the amount charged a requesting party as set forth in Rule 4008(A)(1)(a) and (c) (if applicable), plus an additional $1.00 per page.
2. For transcripts requested by the Commonwealth or a political subdivision, court reporters shall be paid for their professional services an amount equal to the amount charged a requesting party as set forth in Rule 4008(A)(1)(b) and (c) (if applicable), plus an additional $1.00 per page for copies requested by a party other than the Commonwealth or a political subdivision.
3. For a rough draft transcript, court reporters shall be paid for their professional services an amount equal to the amount charged a requesting party as set forth in Rule 4008(A)(2).
4. For real time transmission of the court reporters' translated notes, court reporters shall be paid for their professional services the sum of $150.00 for each half day or less of transcription services provided and $300.00 for each day in which the proceedings exceed a half day.
5. The amount of compensation to be paid to court reporters for their professional services in the preparation and production of transcripts is not to be reduced notwithstanding the waiver or reduction in the cost of a transcript to a litigant pursuant to Rule 4008(B).
6. It is the intent of this Rule to ensure that court reporters shall continue to be compensated for the preparation of transcripts in an amount substantially the same as that previously received by court reporters for these services prior to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's adoption of Pa.R.J.A. Nos. 4007—4009 and is not intended to reduce or otherwise limit the income of court reporters.
Rule 4014. Automatic Redaction of Certain Personal Data Identifiers—Local Rule.
A. Unless otherwise directed by the Presiding Judge, the court reporter preparing the transcript shall redact from the original transcript filed in the appropriate filing office those personal data identifiers for which redaction software has been obtained and is being utilized in such filing office, but these identifiers shall not be redacted on transcripts that are provided to the Court and to the parties. Currently, the software being utilized by the Prothonotary's Office redacts the following personal data identifiers:
1. Social Security Numbers, all but the last four digits;
2. Driver's License Number, all but the last four digits;
3. Vehicle Identification Numbers, all but the last four digits;
4. Financial institutions account numbers, all but the last four digits;
5. Dates of Birth, except year;
6. Names of minor children, except for the first initial of the first and last names.
Rule 4016. Storage and Retention of Exhibits—Local Rule.
In any proceeding in which cash, drugs, weapons or other dangerous materials are marked as exhibits and admitted into evidence, such exhibits shall be kept in secure locations by law enforcement for production on appeal or for a new trial, or pending forfeiture or a destruction order of the Court. With respect to those files whose contents are required to be kept confidential, as well as any other matters where the files have been sealed or access to the files has been restricted, exhibits admitted into evidence as part of the Court record shall be maintained with the official Court record in the appropriate filing office, excluding those exhibits identified in the preceding sentence. All other exhibits admitted into evidence in a Court proceeding shall be retained by the court reporter in a secure location provided by the County for these purposes.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 16-2246. Filed for public inspection December 23, 2016, 9:00 a.m.]
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