Correcting a Certified Transcript While the Appeal Is Pending
You are the official court reporter for a wrongful-death trial in the 1st Judicial District Court for Caddo Parish. The trial produced a 612-page transcript, which you certified and filed on November 15. The jury returned a plaintiffs' verdict, and the defendant has appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal. On May 20, plaintiffs' counsel calls: she says page 388 shows the treating physician testified 'I did not review the 2019 MRI,' but the audio actually says 'I did review the 2019 MRI.' The missing 'did' changes the meaning. You listen to your backup audio and agree the word 'did' is audible. You still have your stenographic notes and the original audio. Defense counsel has not been consulted. Plaintiffs' counsel asks you to correct page 388, re-certify the transcript, and send a corrected copy to the Second Circuit immediately because the appeal is pending. What do you do?
1. May you unilaterally correct and re-certify the filed transcript?
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No. Once a transcript is certified and filed, it is part of the judicial record. A court reporter cannot unilaterally change the text and re-certify it, even for an obvious error. The original certificate represents that the transcript was true and correct when filed; a later private correction would destroy the integrity of the record and could mislead the appellate court. The reporter may acknowledge the error and prepare an affidavit, but the correction must be authorized by the trial court, or by stipulation of all parties and court order. The pending appeal does not create an emergency exception.
2. What procedure should you follow?
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Notify the trial judge and all counsel immediately, including defense counsel, who has not been consulted. File a motion in the trial court to correct the transcript, attaching the reporter's affidavit, the relevant audio excerpt, and the proposed corrected page. Ask for an order directing the correction and for leave to transmit a corrected transcript or supplemental certificate to the clerk. The clerk should then forward it to the Second Circuit as part of the record. Do not send a corrected copy directly to the appellate court or to plaintiffs' counsel alone. If the trial court declines, the appellate court can decide whether to remand or consider the issue.
3. What records should you retain and what should the new certificate say?
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Retain the original notes, original audio, the November 15 certified transcript, all drafts, and the correspondence. The new certificate should identify the corrected page, the court order authorizing the correction, the date, and the fact that the original remains in the reporter's files. It should not erase the history of the first certificate. The reporter should keep a log of who received the corrected version. If the audio itself is the best evidence, preserve it and make it available to the court, not to one party ex parte.