Chambers Pressure to Delete Recorded Remarks
After a contentious motions hearing in a Georgia superior court, the judge calls you into chambers without counsel present. He says he went too far in criticizing opposing counsel, points to a two-paragraph exchange in your rough draft, and asks you to delete it before filing because it is not relevant to the ruling. The exchange was on the record, and your audio backup confirms it. The next day, the prevailing attorney offers to pay a $450 rush fee if you deliver an edited transcript directly to her office before filing and omit the same exchange. The official transcript is due in six days, and the losing attorney has not yet ordered a copy. The judge's judicial assistant later emails, 'Judge wants this handled quietly.'
1. How should you respond to the judge's request to delete the exchange?
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Politely explain that you cannot alter the official record by deleting on-the-record remarks. The transcript must reflect what occurred; if the judge believes a correction or sealing is warranted, the request should be made on the record with counsel present and supported by an appropriate order. Preserve your notes, audio, rough draft, and the email. Do not promise secrecy or destroy material. If the judge insists, seek guidance through the court administrator or the body that governs court reporters, and document the pressure. A reporter's duty of accuracy and impartiality is not suspended by a chambers request, even from the judge.
2. How should you handle the attorney's offer to pay for an edited transcript delivered directly to her office?
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Refuse the edited transcript and the direct pre-filing delivery. A rush fee may be acceptable for expedited production under a consistent policy, but it cannot purchase changes to content or preferential access. File the official transcript with the clerk as required, and provide copies through the normal channels and access rules. Do not give one party an advance copy while withholding it from another. Document the offer and your response. If the attorney claims the judge approved the arrangement, ask for an on-record confirmation or written order before changing any practice.
3. What records should you preserve, and what should you do if the judge says, 'This is an order'?
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Preserve the stenographic notes, realtime files, audio backup, rough draft, emails, and a contemporaneous memo of the oral requests. Do not delete or overwrite anything. If the judge says it is an order, ask for the order to be placed on the record or reduced to writing, and explain that you still cannot ethically falsify the transcript. Seek guidance from the court administrator or the court reporting regulatory body before taking any action that would remove on-the-record material. Compliance with an improper direction to alter the record is not a defense; preservation and documentation protect both the record and your professional position.