The 3,200-Page Transcript and the 60-Day Deadline
You are a certified court reporter in the Circuit Court of Jones County. A 12-day products-liability trial ended with a defense verdict. The plaintiff filed a notice of appeal and ordered the transcript. Under the applicable appellate rules, you must file the completed transcript with the trial court clerk within 60 days. The transcript will run about 3,200 pages. You have two other transcripts due in the same period. One 11-minute segment during the jury-instruction conference is missing from the audio because the recording system switched files; your stenographic notes cover most of it, but two sentences are unclear. The appellant's lawyer demands delivery in 30 days and says he will pay 'when he gets the transcript.' The appellee's lawyer wants to know why the transcript is not already done. You have not requested an extension.
1. What must you do about the 60-day deadline and the competing demands?
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Treat the 60-day deadline as a court deadline, not a suggestion. If you cannot meet it, file a motion for extension in the trial court before the deadline expires, with notice to all parties and a specific explanation of the page count, the audio gap, and your existing obligations. Do not simply miss the deadline and hope the parties will not object. The appellant's demand for 30 days is not a court order. You can tell counsel what is realistically possible, but only the court can give a transcript priority over other court business. Keep a written log of the requests and your responses. The appellee is entitled to a status update, but you should not discuss another party's payment arrangements. If the court grants an extension, file the transcript by the new date and document any remaining issues.
2. How should you handle the 11-minute audio gap?
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Use your stenographic notes as the primary source, but do not invent the two unclear sentences. Mark them as '(inaudible)' or '[inaudible]' and, if appropriate, add a reporter's note explaining that a brief audio failure occurred during the jury-instruction conference. If the notes and context allow you to reconstruct the substance with confidence, transcribe it; if not, preserve the uncertainty. Do not fill the gap from memory alone or from another person's recollection. Keep the original audio file and notes. If the parties dispute the missing portion, the court can hold a hearing; your obligation is to produce an accurate record that discloses the limitation rather than a clean-looking record that conceals it.
3. Can you withhold the transcript until the appellant pays? Explain.
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You may have a fee agreement that entitles you to payment, but you should not unilaterally withhold a court-ordered appellate transcript without checking the applicable rule and, if necessary, seeking court guidance. The appellant is ordinarily responsible for the cost of the transcript, but an unpaid bill does not excuse you from communicating with the court about the deadline. Tell counsel and the court promptly if payment is outstanding. Do not use payment as a reason to miss a deadline silently, and do not release the transcript to one party on terms that violate the court's rules. If the appellant claims indigence, the court may address payment; that is not your decision. Document your invoices, payments, and communications.