Ill. R. Cir. Ct. McHenry Cnty. 1.08

As amended through September 23, 2024
Rule 1.08 - COURT REPORTING SERVICES
A. Employees
1. The number of court reporting services employees designated to serve the Circuit Court shall be determined by the Chief Judges of the 12th, 18th, 19th, and 22nd Judicial Circuits with the aid of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
2. The Chief Judge shall appoint employees to the designated court reporting services positions, which employees shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Judge.
3. The Chief Judge or the Reporter Supervisor, under the direction of the Chief Judge, shall assign all such employees to their duties, consistent with Supreme Court Rule 45, the Administrative Regulations, and general administrative powers.
B. Electronic Recording
1. Electronic reporting systems have been approved for use and installed in this Circuit. Pursuant to subparagraph (A)(3) above, court reporting services employees shall be assigned to be trained and to operate the electronic recording systems.
2. The production of the physical medium storing the electronic recording of any court proceedings shall be monitored by trained court reporting services employees who shall certify that each retained electronic recording was fully and accurately recorded at the time and place indicated. Said certification shall be affixed to and accompany the electronic recording medium, and the medium shall be securely preserved in an unaltered and unalterable condition.
3. Digital computer recordings of testimony are created for only one purpose. That purpose is to preserve the words spoken informal courtroom proceedings, hearings and trials in a particular case so that a transcript - the official record - may be subsequently produced. The digital computer recordings are owned by the Circuit Court of the Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit and may only be used pursuant to rule.
4. Any spoken words in the courtroom that are not a part of a proceeding, hearing or trial of a specific case are not intended recordings and may not be listened to, reproduced or used in any way other than by authorized operators of the system to orient themselves on recording content.
5. Playback of any portion of the computer recording of a proceeding, hearing, or trial of a specific case is authorized in only four situations:
a. During the proceeding, hearing, or trial at the direction of the judge;
b. By a court reporting services employee for the purpose of creating transcript as the Official Record;
c. At the direction of the court for the use of the court;
d. Pursuant to the procedure outlined in (C)(3) below.
6. In all other instances, the contents of the electronic recording medium shall be disseminated by transcript only, which transcript, and not the medium, shall be the official record. Only the Chief Judge may authorize exceptions to these rules upon good cause shown.
C. Transcripts
1. A request for a transcript, from either the electronic recording systems or from a court reporting services employee, is obtained by completing a "Transcript Request Form," which is available in the Court Administration office.
2. Transcripts generated from the electronic recording systems shall be prepared in accordance with applicable statutory authority, rule and administrative regulation and shall utilize the following certification:

I, __________, certify the foregoing to be a true and accurate transcript of the electronic recording of the proceeding of the above-entitled cause, which recording contained the operator's certification as required by Local Rule 1.08 (B)(2).

__________________

(Signature)

________________________________

(License or Restricted License Number)

Date: ________

3. If the accuracy of a certified transcript generated from the electronic recording system is questioned, the following procedure shall be used: (added effective 7/26/02)
a. Every challenged portion of the transcript shall be identified in writing and provided to the Reporter Supervisor. A copy of the challenged portion of the transcript shall be given to the certifying court reporting services employee to make the necessary corrections.
b. If the certifying court reporting services employee and the person challenging the transcript's accuracy cannot agree upon the challenged portions, those portions shall be identified in writing and provided to the Reporter Supervisor.
c. The Supervisor shall cause identified portions to be reviewed against the archived electronic recording for accuracy and designate necessary corrections to be made by the certifying court reporting services employee.
d. If the certifying court reporting services employee, in good faith, is unable to certify the corrections designated, then the dispute will be placed before the judge who heard the transcribed proceeding, with notice to all necessary parties.
e. The certifying court reporting services employee shall personally appear and present the questioned transcript. The Reporter Supervisor shall present the disputed corrections along with a digital recording of the proceedings. The judge shall review the material presented, make any necessary changes in the certifying reporter's transcript, and issue a court order certifying the transcript as accurate.
4. Transcripts generated from stenographic notes shall be prepared and certified by qualified official court reporting services employees pursuant to the relevant statute, regulation, and rule and are not affected by subparagraphs (B), (C)(2) and (C)(3) above.
5. Unless specifically authorized by court order to the contrary, only a transcript certified by one of the official court reporting services employees of this Circuit is the Official Record. The Official Record shall be given preference for use in all courtrooms and as a part of the Record on Appeal for any case from this Circuit.

Ill. R. Cir. Ct. McHenry Cnty. 1.08