Sealed Exhibits, Renumbering, and a 'Complete' Certificate
You are preparing the transcript of a three-hour child-custody modification hearing in a Georgia superior court for appeal. The record includes an in-camera interview with a 12-year-old child, which the judge ordered sealed; a medical exhibit admitted under seal; and a 40-minute bench conference that the judge ordered not reported. The appellant's attorney wants the sealed material removed entirely and the page numbers renumbered so the transcript ends at 214 pages, and asks you to certify that the transcript is complete. The clerk wants the original plus one copy and an index of exhibits. The court's standing order requires the transcript to be filed within 30 days after the notice of appeal and says sealed materials must be transmitted under seal with a cover sheet.
1. How should the sealed in-camera interview and sealed exhibit be handled, and may you renumber pages to remove them?
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Do not remove sealed material or renumber pages to conceal its existence. Sealed material is still part of the record; the seal restricts access, not the reporter's duty to preserve and transmit it. Maintain sequential transcript page numbers or use a separate sealed volume only if the court's order or local practice authorizes that format, with a clear cross-reference in the public index. Place sealed portions under the required cover sheet and transmit them to the clerk under seal. Redaction or exclusion requires a court order, not an attorney's request. The public transcript may refer to the sealed material generically without disclosing protected content.
2. Can you certify the transcript as 'complete,' and how should the unreported bench conference be treated?
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Certify accurately: you can certify the transcript of the proceedings that were reported, but you should not certify that the transcript contains every moment of the hearing if a bench conference was ordered not reported. Include a neutral notation such as '(Bench conference held off the record by order of court.)' if that is consistent with the court's direction, without inventing content. Do not let the attorney's requested 'complete' label override the facts. File the original and required copy with the clerk under the standing order, include the exhibit index, and keep your notes and audio for the required retention period. Copies to parties should follow the court's access rules, not an ex parte arrangement.