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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 17-277

THE COURTS

BUCKS COUNTY

Order Rescinding Administrative Order No. 68 and Promulgating Local Rules of Judicial Administration 4007, 4008 and 4009 Governing Court Reporting and Transcripts

[47 Pa.B. 951]
[Saturday, February 18, 2017]

Order

 And Now, this 19th day of December, 2016, it is hereby Ordered that Bucks County Administrative Order No. 68 is rescinded and Bucks County Local Rules of Judicial Administration 4007, 4008 and 4009 governing court reporting and transcripts are hereby promulgated, effective January 1, 2017, as follows:

Rule 4007. Request for Transcripts.

 (A) Requests for transcripts shall be set forth on the standardized Request for Transcript Form available online at www.buckscounty.org/CourtServices. The form is also available from the following offices: Prothonotary, Domestic Relations Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts and the Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans' Court. Once completed, the Request for Transcript Form shall be submitted to the Chief Court Reporter.

 (1) A request for transcript may also be made by contacting the court reporter present at the proceeding directly or by contacting the Chief Court Reporter by telephone, in writing or by email.

 (2) A request for daily, same-day or expedited transcription shall be submitted to the Chief Court Reporter at least ten (10) days prior to the scheduled proceeding. In the event of an emergency, a party may request, by oral motion, a daily, same-day or expedited transcript. The request will be accommodated when it is feasible for the court reporter to produce the transcript within the allotted period of time, and upon approval of the trial judge and the Chief Court Reporter.

 (B) Upon receiving a request for a transcript:

 (1) the court reporter shall, within 24 hours of receipt of said request, determine the number of copies being ordered by contacting all counsel and/or self-represented parties; and

 (2) the court reporter shall send the ordering party or parties, via email or regular mail, the standardized Transcript Order Form. The Transcript Order Form shall include the estimated number of pages, the page rate and the estimated total cost of the transcript.

 (C) The requesting party or parties shall make a non-refundable deposit in the amount of 95% of the estimated cost of the transcript. The deposit shall be paid by money order, certified check or law firm check made payable to the County of Bucks.

 (1) The deposit, along with the completed and signed Transcript Order Form, shall be delivered to the Court Administrator's Office, 100 N. Main Street, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, within seven (7) calendar days from the date of receipt of the Transcript Order Form.

 (D) The court reporter shall prepare the transcript upon direction of the Chief Court Reporter.

 (E) The court reporter shall notify all ordering parties and the Chief Court Reporter upon completion of the transcript and provide the completed transcript to the trial judge for signature.

 (F) The court reporter shall deliver the original transcript to the appropriate filing office and distribute copies to all ordering parties upon payment of any balance owed.

Rule 4008. Transcript Costs Payable by a Requesting Party Other than the Commonwealth or a Subdivision Thereof.

 (A) Costs

 (1) The costs payable by a requesting party, other than the Commonwealth or a subdivision thereof, for a transcript in electronic format (.pdf) shall not exceed:

 (a) ordinary transcript, $2.50 per page;

 (b) expedited transcript, $3.50 per page;

 (c) daily transcript, $4.50 per page; and

 (d) same day delivery, $6.50 per page.

 (2) When the transcript is prepared in bound paper format, the costs shall be in accordance with paragraph (1) relating to electronic format (.pdf) plus a surcharge of $0.25 per page.

 (3) A Complex Trial Surcharge of $1.00 per page will be applied in cases such as mass tort, medical malpractice or other unusually complex litigation where there is a need for the court reporter to significantly expand his or her dictionary, when approved by the presiding Judge.

 (B) Economic Hardship

 (1) A Petition to Proceed In Forma Pauperis shall be filed with the appropriate filing office (Prothonotary, Domestic Relations Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts or the Register of Wills/Clerk of the Orphans' Court) along with the Request for Transcript and Poverty Affidavit.

 (2) Copies of the forms listed above shall be provided to:

 (a) the presiding judge;

 (b) the Chief Court Reporter; and

 (c) opposing counsel, or the opposing party if self-represented.

 In forma pauperis and Poverty Affidavit Forms are available at www.buckscounty.org/CourtServices.

 (C) When more than one ordering party requests a transcript, the transcript cost plus $0.75 per page (paper format) and/or $0.50 per page (electronic copy/.pdf) shall be divided equally among the ordering parties.

 (D) A request for a copy of any transcript previously ordered, transcribed and filed of record shall be made by telephone, letter or email to the Chief Court Reporter and shall be provided at the cost of $0.75 per page (paper format) and/or $0.50 per page (electronic copy/.pdf).

Rule 4009. Fees Payable to the Court Reporter by the Courts for Court-Ordered Transcripts.

 (A) A party requesting that the cost of their transcript be placed on the court must provide documentation of having been declared in forma pauperis as described in 4008(B).

 (1) Any transcript request where the costs are to be placed on the court must be accompanied by Order of Court directing the notes of testimony be transcribed.

 (B) Court reporters shall be paid the following amounts by the Court for court-ordered transcripts:

 (1) regular delivery of the original transcript: $1.25 per page;

 (2) regular delivery of each additional copy: $0.30 per page;

 (3) regular delivery of a duplicate original: $0.30;

 (4) expedited delivery of the transcript: $2.00 per page for the original, and $0.60 per page for each additional copy;

 (5) daily delivery of the transcript: $3.00 per page for the original and $0.90 per page for each additional copy; and

 (6) same-day delivery of the transcript: $3.50 per page for the original and $1.00 per page for each additional copy.

 This Order shall become effective thirty (30) days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

By the Court

JEFFREY L. FINLEY, 
President Judge

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 17-277. Filed for public inspection February 17, 2017, 9:00 a.m.]


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