§ 51-61 — Court reporter and court recording monitor to be sworn. Duties. Requests and payment for transcripts.

Connecticut § 51-61

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 51: Courts
• Ch. 874: Court Reporters

Text

(a) Each official court reporter, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall be sworn to faithfully perform such duties and shall then be an officer of the court. Each official court reporter may attend court proceedings and make accurate records of all proceedings in the court, except sessions of small claims. (b) The Judicial Branch shall employ court recording monitors. Each court recording monitor, before entering upon the duties of the office, shall be sworn to faithfully perform such duties. (c) Each official court reporter and court recording monitor shall, when requested, furnish to the court, to the state's attorney, to any party of record and to any other person, within a reasonable time, a transcript as may be desired, except that, if the proceedings were closed to the public, such official court reporter or court recording monitor shall not furnish such transcript to such other person unless the court in its discretion determines that such disclosure is appropriate. (d) Each official court reporter and court recording monitor shall inform the state's attorney whenever a transcript has been requested by a party to a case in which the state's attorney has an appearance. If such request is made by a party, or by a party represented by counsel other than a public defender, the state's attorney shall, upon request, receive from such official court reporter or court recording monitor a copy of the transcript at no cost, as provided in subsection (a) of section 51-63 . (e) If a transcript has been requested by the state's attorney or a public defender in a matter in which each is a party to the case, the official court reporter or the court recording monitor shall inform the party that has not made the original request that the request has been made. If the nonrequesting party requests a copy of the transcript, prior to its delivery to the requesting party, the cost of such transcript shall be shared by the parties. The official court reporter or the court recording monitor shall provide the transcript in a form that may be photocopied, to either the state's attorney or the public defender. If a request for a transcript is received by the official court reporter or court recording monitor subsequent to delivery of the transcript, the requesting party in this instance shall be responsible for payment of the full copy rate of such transcript as provided in subsection (a) of section 51-63 . (f) Each official court reporter and court recording monitor shall inform the court whenever a transcript of proceedings has been requested by the state's attorney or any party of record pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. If such transcript has been requested, the court, upon request, shall receive from such official court reporter or court recording monitor a transcript at no cost as provided in subsection (a) of section 51-63 . (g) Whenever the court deems it necessary, it may order a transcript to be filed with the clerk of the trial court.

Legislative History

(1949 Rev., S. 7729; 1953, S. 3135d; P.A. 76-436, S. 74, 681; P.A. 78-280, S. 79, 127; P.A. 82-248, S. 59; P.A. 84-23; P.A. 88-31; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12, S. 43, 55; P.A. 93-142, S. 6, 8; P.A. 98-81, S. 4; P.A. 19-64, S. 5.) History: P.A. 76-436 specified that court reporters need not make records for small claims sessions proceedings and replaced reference to prosecuting attorneys with reference to assistants and deputy assistant state's attorneys, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 78-280 deleted references to terms and sessions of court reflecting change to court's continuous operation; P.A. 82-248 reworded section, divided section into Subsecs. and added provision re authorization of employment of assistant reporters formerly in Sec. 51-63; P.A. 84-23 amended Subsec. (a) by requiring a court reporter to make accurate records of the arguments of counsel upon the request of any party; P.A. 88-31 amended Subsec. (c) to require each reporter to furnish a transcript “to any other person” when requested and to add exception that if the proceedings were closed to the public the reporter shall not furnish such transcript to such other person unless the proceedings were commenced on or after October 1, 1988, and the court determines disclosure is appropriate; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-12 created a new Subsec. (d) requiring a reporter to furnish a free copy of a transcript to prosecutors whenever one is requested by a party of record, created a new Subsec. (e) requiring the prosecutor and public defender to share the cost of a transcript when requested by both parties, created a new Subsec. (f) requiring reporters to inform the court whenever parties of record request a transcript and provide the court with a free copy if requested and relettered the remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 93-142 added references to “monitors”, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 98-81 amended Subsec. (h) by adding “or the clerk's designee”; P.A. 19-64 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing provision re official court reporter to attend court and make accurate records of proceedings except sessions of small claims and arguments of counsel unless party requests records of arguments of counsel with provision re each official court reporter may attend court proceedings and make accurate records of proceedings in court except sessions of small claims, substantially amended Subsec. (b) including by deleting provisions re official court reporter to employ assistant court reporters and monitors if judge so directs and assistant reporters or monitors not to receive per diem rate unless employment authorized by judge, and assistant court reporter or monitor to be sworn to faithfully perform duties, and adding provision re Judicial Branch to employ court recording monitors who are to be sworn to faithfully perform duties, amended Subsec. (c) by deleting reference to assistant court reporter, replacing “monitor” with “court recording monitor” and deleting “or any assistant or deputy assistant state's attorney,”, deleting “of the proceedings, or such portion thereof”, replacing “court reporter” with “official court reporter”, replacing “monitor” with “court recording monitor”, deleting provision re furnishing portion of transcript, and deleting reference to proceedings commenced on or after October 1, 1988, deleted Subsec. (d) re court reporter or monitor to furnish transcript or portion thereof to state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney at no cost, deleted Subsec. (e) re form of transcript to be provided to state's attorney, assistant state's attorney, deputy assistant state's attorney, public defender, assistant public defender or deputy assistant public defender and cost of transcript to be shared, added new Subsec. (d) re court reporter and court recording monitor to inform state's attorney when transcript requested by party to case in which state's attorney has appearance and provision of copy at no cost, added new Subsec. (e) re court reporter or court recording monitor to inform party of request by state's attorney or public defender for transcript and responsibility for payment of copies, amended Subsec. (f) by deleting reference to assistant court reporter and replacing “monitor” with “court recording monitor”, deleting references to portion of transcript and replacing reference to Sec. 51-63(c) with reference to Sec. 51-63(a), amended Subsec. (g) by deleting “of the proceedings, or any part thereof,”, deleted Subsec. (h) re record of proceedings on trial of any action to be filed within 30 days with clerk or designee, and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2019. Trial court may decline to stop a witness to enable prisoner's counsel to take notes of the testimony. 47 C. 534. Brief absence of stenographer does not make intervening proceedings void or erroneous. 71 C. 554. Notes may be read, or transcript submitted, to jury. 82 C. 66. If court concludes that transcript as certified by stenographer is incorrect, it has duty to correct it. 128 C. 289. Cited. 165 C. 152; 190 C. 219; 193 C. 439; 194 C. 233; 195 C. 496; 208 C. 156; 237 C. 339. Cited. 36 CS 9; 42 CS 10; 43 CS 246. Subsec. (a): Cited. 193 C. 48; 199 C. 207; 216 C. 604; 231 C. 43. Cited. 3 CA 148; 21 CA 235. Constitutional right to have voir dire proceedings recorded not established in Connecticut. 26 CA 125. Cited. 46 CA 269. Subsec. (c): Writ of mandamus seeking to compel court reporter to release transcripts in child custody case was nonjusticiable collateral attack on a ruling by a separate court to seal records in a different action. 347 C. 501.