In Re: Rescission of Rule 4003, Amendment of Rule 4008 and Comments to Rule 4006 & 4007 Judicial Administration ( 2019 )

Rule 4003. Rescinded. [Committee on Court Reporting and Transcripts. (A) The Committee on Court Reporting and Transcripts shall consist of the following members appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, one of whom shall be designated as Chair and one of whom shall be designated as Vice-Chair: (1) One representative of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania; (2) One representative of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania; (3) Two president judges of the courts of common pleas chosen from among the judicial districts of the Commonwealth; (4) Two members of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania; (5) The district court administrator of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas; (6) The district court administrator of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas; (7) Two district court administrators chosen from among the judicial districts of the Commonwealth other than Philadelphia and Allegheny; (8) Two providers of court reporting services representing the various methods currently in usage within Pennsylvania; and (9) Two members of the Pennsylvania Bar. (B) Initial appointments shall be for one-, two- or three-year terms, and these members may serve one additional three-year term. Thereafter appointments shall be for three years and members shall serve no more than two consecutive three-year terms. A replacement appointee shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term. (C) The Committee shall review current rules and practices, and, upon concurrence of the Court Administrator, recommend revisions to the Uniform Rules Governing Court Reporting and Transcripts as may be necessary to effectuate the policy of these rules. (D) The Administrative Office shall provide staff support to the Committee. ] **** Rule 4006. Employment and Duties of Court Reporting Personnel. **** (E) **** Comment: [The Committee recommends that c]Court reporters should assure, in the event of unavailability or incapacity, that the court is able to access court reporter notes or work product so that all transcripts can be recovered. [The Committee recommends that e]Each court reporter should provide certification every 6 months that at a minimum, the court reporter has provided one of the following methods or mechanisms for recovering transcripts: Rule 4007. Requests for Transcripts. **** Comment: **** It is anticipated that court reporters shall continue to be compensated for the preparation of transcripts pursuant to local rule or practice. It is not contemplated that this rule shall interfere with or otherwise limit the income of court reporters. In this regard, [the Committee recognizes that] in certain jurisdictions, court reporters earn a substantial portion of their income through the preparation of transcripts. It shall remain the duty of the president judge and district court administrator to assure that the implementation of these rules does not unfairly limit the ability of court reporters to be properly compensated for their professional services. Rule 4008. Transcript Costs Payable by a Requesting Party Other Than the Commonwealth or a Subdivision Thereof. **** (F) Requests for Rate Increases The president judge of a judicial district may request an increase in the rates prescribed in subdivision (A) or (D) by submitting a written request to the [Committee on Court Reporting and Transcripts] Court Administrator. Prior to submission, notice of the proposed increase 2 shall be published for public comment for at least thirty days. Any comments received must be forwarded to the Court Administrator with the request. The request shall only be approved where it is established that the judicial district faces an economic hardship caused by the current rates and that the requested rates are reasonable. [If the Committee approves the request by majority vote, it shall be forwarded to the Court Administrator for review.] If the Court Administrator determines that the increase is necessary, the request shall be forwarded to the Supreme Court. 3