Alweis v. Evans

114 A.D.2d 85, 497 N.Y.S.2d 800, 1986 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 49844

This text of 114 A.D.2d 85 (Alweis v. Evans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alweis v. Evans, 114 A.D.2d 85, 497 N.Y.S.2d 800, 1986 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 49844 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Boomer, J.

Plaintiffs, senior court reporters in the Fifth Judicial District, brought this action against both the Chief Administrative Judge of the State of New York and the Administrative Judge of the Fifth Judicial District seeking relief against administrative directives requiring them to furnish transcripts free of charge upon request of a Judge.

The issue presented stems from a conflict between two sections of the Judiciary Law. Section 299 provides: "Each stenographer * * * must, upon request, furnish, with all reasonable diligence and without charge, to the judge holding a term or sitting, which he has attended, a copy written out at length from his stenographic notes, of the testimony and proceedings, or a part thereof, upon a trial or hearing, at that term or sitting. But this section does not aflect a provision of law authorizing the judge to direct a party or the parties to an action or special proceeding, or the county treasurer, to pay the stenographer’s fees for such a copy.” Section 302 (2), on the other hand, states: "In any civil or criminal case, if the * * * judge presiding at the trial * * * requires such a copy, the stenographer is entitled to his fees therefor; but he must furnish it, upon receiving a certificate of the sum to which he is entitled. The amount thereof must be paid by the treasurer of the county or city, as the case may be, where the trial or hearing is held, upon the certificate of * * * the judge presiding at the trial or hearing”. Thus, section 299 requires a stenographer to furnish transcripts to a Judge "without charge” and section 302 (2) provides that the stenographer "is entitled to his fees therefor”.

Precipitating this litigation were two administrative directives. On May 12, 1981, Justice Roy, the Administrative Judge for the Fifth Judicial District, at the request of the Chief Administrative Judge, issued the following directive:

"All judges and justices in the Fifth Judicial District are [87]*87encouraged not to require transcripts of civil or criminal proceedings.

"If a transcript is required, it will be ordered without charge to the State pursuant to § 299 of the Judiciary Law. The State will continue to pay for sentencing minutes pursuant to § 302 of the Judiciary Law until further notice.”

By memorandum dated September 11, 1981, Justice Roy further directed:

"From now on, invoices for stenographic services will be processed under the following rules * * *

"5. Under no circumstances will reporters be paid for Minutes requested by or supplied to a judge of any court except Sentencing Minutes as set out in my memorandum of May 12, 1981.”

By their complaint, the court reporters sought, among other things, a judgment, declaring that Judiciary Law § 299 is void, and enjoining the defendants from requiring court reporters to furnish copies of transcripts to Judges free of charge. On plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment Special Term declared that sections 299 and 302 are not in conflict, and that these sections empower the trial court, in its sole discretion, to determine if transcripts should be ordered under section 299 free of charge, or under section 302 whereby the stenographer is to be paid (123 Misc 2d 627). Special Term also declared null and void the directive of Justice Roy dated May 12, 1981, and all other directives issued by an Administrative Judge of the State, which seek to compel a Trial Judge to order a transcript pursuant to a particular section of the Judiciary Law. Defendants appeal, contending that the determination concerning payment of court reporters is an administrative function conferred upon them by the NY Constitution (art VI, § 28) and may not be exercised by a trial court.

We disagree with the holding of Special Term. After reviewing the language and the legislative history of both sections, we conclude that they cannot be reconciled and that section 299 has been repealed by implication. Nothing in the language of these sections indicates a legislative intent to permit the Trial Judge to decide whether a court reporter should be paid for transcripts ordered by him. Moreover, such a construction would be unreasonable. The Legislature has provided no standards for the exercise of this discretion and we may not rewrite the statute by adding our own. Such unbridled discre[88]*88tion would lead to disparate results; court reporters would be paid or not depending solely upon the inclination of the particular Judge who ordered the transcript.

Nor can we construe these sections as delegating authority to the Office of Court Administration to make the choice. Not only do the sections contain no language to support that construction, but so construed and lacking standards they would be invalid as an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority (see, Packer Coll. Inst. v University of State of N. Y., 298 NY 184, 189-190; cf. Matter of Shattenkirk v Finnerty, 97 AD2d 51, 54, affd for reasons stated below 62 NY2d 949).

We must turn to the legislative history of these sections to discover the legislative intent. Both are derived from the Code of Civil Procedure (Code Civ Pro §§ 85, 86).1 Code of Civil Procedure §85 contained the same language as present in Judiciary Law § 299.2 Code of Civil Procedure § 86, when first enacted, contained no provision authorizing payment for transcripts furnished for the use of a Judge. It provided: "Each stenographer, specified in this act, must likewise, upon request, furnish, with all reasonable diligence, to the defendant in a criminal cause, or a party, or his attorney in a civil cause, in which he has attended the trial or hearing, a copy, written out at length from his stenographic notes, of the testimony and proceedings, or a part thereof, upon the trial or hearing, upon payment, by the person requiring the same, of the fees allowed by law. If the district-attorney or the Attorney-General requires such a copy, in a criminal cause, the stenographer is entitled to his fees therefor; but he must furnish it, upon receiving a certificate of the sum to which he is so entitled; which shall be a county charge, and must be paid by the county treasurer, upon a certificate, like other county charges.” (L 1876, ch 448, § 86.)

In 1906 the second sentence of Code of Civil Procedure § 86 was amended by inserting the words "judge presiding at the trial in a criminal cause”, so that the second sentence read as follows (L 1906, ch 388, § 1): "If the district attorney, the attorney-general or the judge presiding at the trial in a [89]*89criminal cause, requires such a copy, the stenographer is entitled to his fees therefor, but he must furnish it upon receiving a certificate of the sum to which he is so entitled, which shall be a county charge and must be paid by the county treasurer upon the certificate like other county charges” (emphasis added). Thus, for the first time there was some inconsistency between sections 85 and 86, but they still could be read together. Section 85 provided that stenographers, upon request, were to furnish transcripts to Judges free of charge, and section 86 provided that if a Judge ordered a transcript in a criminal case, the stenographer was entitled to his fees. After this amendment, section 86 applied to transcripts furnished to Judges in criminal cases and section 85 still had effect in civil cases.

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Related

Packer Collegiate Institute v. University of New York
81 N.E.2d 80 (New York Court of Appeals, 1948)
Moynahan v. . City of New York
98 N.E. 482 (New York Court of Appeals, 1912)
Shattenkirk v. Finnerty
468 N.E.2d 53 (New York Court of Appeals, 1984)
Shattenkirk v. Finnerty
97 A.D.2d 51 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
Alweis v. Evans
123 Misc. 2d 627 (New York Supreme Court, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
114 A.D.2d 85, 497 N.Y.S.2d 800, 1986 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 49844, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alweis-v-evans-nyappdiv-1986.