Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION 13-20011-01-KHV
09-09-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. BRETT J. WILLIAMSON, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
KATHRYN H. VRATIL UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On May 28, 2015, the Court sentenced defendant to a controlling term of life in prison. This matter is before the Court on defendant's Motion For Leave To Inspect Original Recordings Of Proceedings (Doc. #257) filed April 29, 2024, which seeks copies of the stenographic notes of the court reporters at his criminal hearings in 2013 and 2014. For reasons stated below, the Court overrules defendant's motion.
Defendant previously sought access to the backup tapes of court reporters to get the whole truth including the undersigned judge's and witnesses' “tone, . . . pauses and hesitations, and any other indicators of temperament or demeanor.” Petition For A Writ Of Mandamus (Doc. #253) at 3. Because defendant did not show that the court reporters had a nondiscretionary duty to disclose backup audio tapes, the Court dismissed his petition for mandamus for lack of jurisdiction. See Memorandum And Order (Doc. #254) filed March 29, 2022.
Defendant asserts that he has a statutory right to inspect and copy the stenographic notes. Under 28 U.S.C. § 753(b), a court reporter must “attach his official certificate to the original shorthand notes or other original records so taken and promptly file them with the clerk who shall preserve them in the public records of the court for not less than ten years.” Defendant has not shown that he is entitled to a copy of the stenographic notes. Even so, defendant's representative may inspect the electronic copy of the stenographic notes at the Clerk's Office during normal business hours. The Clerk's staff has so advised a member of defendant's family. The Court therefore overrules as moot defendant's request to inspect the stenographic notes.
IT IS THERFORE ORDERED that defendant's Motion For Leave To Inspect Original Recordings Of Proceedings (Doc. #257) filed April 29, 2024 is OVERRULED.