Rule 381. Preservation of Testimony by Video Recording.
A. When the testimony of a witness is taken and preserved pursuant to Rule 380 by means of video recording, the testimony shall be recorded simultaneously by a stenographer.
B. The following technical requirements shall be made part of the court order required by Rule 380(A) or the written agreement provided in Rule 380(B):
1) The video recording shall begin with a statement on camera that includes:
a) the operator’s name and business address;
b) the name and address of the operator’s employer;
c) the date, time, and place of the video recording;
d) the caption of the case;
e) the name of the witness;
f) the party on whose behalf the witness is testifying; and
g) the nature of the judicial proceedings for which the testimony is intended.
2) The court and the persons shall identify themselves on camera.
3) The witness shall be sworn on camera.
4) If the length of the testimony requires the use of more than one video recording, the end of each video recording and the beginning of each succeeding video recording shall be announced on camera.
5) At the conclusion of the witness’ testimony, a statement shall be made on camera that the testimony is concluded. A statement shall also be made concerning the custody of the video recording(s).
6) Statements concerning stipulations, exhibits, or other pertinent matters may be made at any time on camera.
7) The video recording shall be timed by a digital clock on camera that continually shows the hour, minute, and second of the testimony.
8) All objections and the reasons for them shall be made on the record. When the court presides over the video recording of testimony, the court’s rulings on objections shall also be made on the record.
9) When the court does not preside over the video recording of testimony, the video recording operator shall keep a log of each objection, referenced to the time each objection is made. All rulings on objections shall be made before the video recording is shown at any judicial proceeding.
10) The original video recording shall not be altered.
Comment This rule provides the basic technical requirements for taking and preserving testimony by video recording under Rule 380. The list of requirements is not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, it is recommended that all recording by video be carefully planned and executed, and that in addition to complying with the basic requirements, each court order or written agreement for the video recording of testimony be tailored to the nature of the case and the needs of the persons.
Generally, the camera should focus on the witness to the extent practicable.
Under paragraph (B)(9), the court may rule on objections by either reviewing pertinent sections of the video recording, aided by the video operator’s log, or by reviewing the stenographic transcript required by paragraph (A).
Any editing procedure ordered by the court or agreed upon by the persons may be used as long as it comports with current technology and does not alter the original video recording. Paragraph (B)(10) is intended to insure preservation of the original video, thereby providing for those situations in which a dispute arises over editing procedures.
This rule authorizes the use of video recording devices only for the preservation of testimony under Rule 380. It is not intended to affect other rules governing recording devices.
Official Note
Rule 381 adopted April 1, 2005, effective October 1, 2005.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
Final Report explaining the provisions of Chapter three, Part F published with the Court’s Order at 35 Pa.B. 2214 (April 16, 2005).
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