1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
2 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
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MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR COURT )
4 REPORTING SERVICES FOR THE ) STANDING ORDER: CDIL-2
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS )
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The Official Court Reporter Plan dated December 21, 1987 is vacated, and the following
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plan is substituted as the Plan for the Central District of Illinois.
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MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR COURT REPORTING SERVICES
10 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
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A. INTRODUCTION.
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The Court desires through this Plan to achieve effective control and management of
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the official court reporters (court reporters). Recognizing the geography of this district and
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the fact that reporters are assigned to Judges in Peoria, Urbana, and Springfield, the reporters
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are to be supervised on a day to day basis by the Judge to whom he or she is assigned.
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Otherwise, the Clerk of Court (Clerk) is authorized administratively by the Court to
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supervise the combined court reporting operations of the Court.
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The Plan is designed to:
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1. obtain effective management of the court reporters by proper supervision and
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control;
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2. make clear that court reporters though assigned to a particular judge, serve the
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court en banc and may be assigned when needed throughout the District for
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any active judge, senior judge, visiting district judge, or magistrate judge;
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3. obtain the most effective utilization of the services of court reporters by
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equitable distribution of the workload at the same site;
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4. avoid backlogs of transcript and assure prompt delivery of transcripts;
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5. assure appointment and retention of fully-qualified court reporters and
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1 dismissal of court reporters who are no longer performing in a satisfactory
2 manner;
3 6. minimize the use of contract reporters;
4 7. promote competency, loyalty, and dignity among the court reporters;
5 8. enhance the efficient operation of the court and further its mission.
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7 B. APPOINTMENT AND DISMISSAL OF COURT REPORTERS.
8 The Court is presently authorized 5 official court reporters stationed in Peoria,
9 Urbana, and Springfield.
10 The Clerk of Court has been designated by the Court to appoint court reporters with
11 the approval of the Court. Court reporters shall be appointed in accordance with the
12 provisions of the Court Reporter Act, 28 U.S.C. Section 753, and the policies and
13 procedures of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Judicial
14 Conference of the United States. Only fully-qualified reporters shall be appointed as court
15 reporters of this court. Newly appointed court reporters shall be subject to a probationary
16 period of six months. Court reporters who do not perform in a competent and satisfactory
17 manner shall be subject to dismissal by the Clerk.
18 In accordance with Judicial Conference guidelines, it is the policy of this Court that
19 the Court en banc hires reporters to serve at the pleasure of the Court, regardless of the
20 death, resignation, or retirement of an individual Judge. In the period between the
21 occurrence of a judicial vacancy and appointment of a new Judge, reporters shall continue to
22 serve other active judges, senior judges, and magistrate judges.
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24 C. DUTIES OF THE CLERK.
25 1. The duties and responsibilities of the Clerk shall include, but shall not be
26 limited to:
27 a. assignment and reassignment of official court reporters for the purpose
28 of distributing fairly and equitably the workload of all reporters at the
1 same site and assuring the best utilization of all reporters involved in
2 the perfection of the record, subject to the provisions of paragraph D;
3 b. periodically reviewing transcripts to assure full compliance with format
4 requirements of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
5 and the Judicial Conference of the United States;
6 c. periodically reviewing transcript billing to assure that authorized
7 transcript rates are charged and that billing is in proper form, including
8 the requirement of certification that the fee charged and the page format
9 conforms to the requirements of the Judicial Conference of the United
10 States;
11 d. determining compliance by all court reporters and recorders with the
12 rules and regulations concerning the recording and filing of
13 arraignments, pleas, and sentencings;
14 e. periodically reviewing the time records of the court reporters to assure
15 proper maintenance and accuracy;
16 f. reviewing the records of the court reporters to assure the timely filing of
17 all reports required by the Administrative Office of the United States
18 Courts and the Judicial Conference of the United States;
19 g. requiring the court reporters to submit those reports mandated by the
20 Judicial Conference to the Clerk for review and signature on a timely
21 basis;
22 h. at least annually, filing with the Court a report concerning the work of
23 the court reporters;
24 i. performing such other duties relating to court reporting services as shall
25 be directed by the Court.
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27 D. ASSIGNMENT OF COURT REPORTERS.
28 1. Court reporters serve the Court en banc; therefore, it is within
1 the discretion of the Clerk to assign and reassign court reporters to active
2 judges, senior judges, visiting district judges, and magistrate judges,
3 in a manner designed to equally distribute the total court reporting workload
4 efficiently and cost effectively. When necessary and depending upon
5 availability, a court reporter may be reassigned by the Clerk to another Judge
6 of the Court, to a senior judge, or other judicial official. When necessary and
7 in accordance with the policies of the Administrative Office of the United
8 States Courts and the Judicial Conference of the United States, contract
9 reporters will be utilized to meet the needs of the Court.
10 2. The use of contract reporters and per diem reporters shall be kept to an
11 absolute minimum. Judicial Officers will minimize the travel of court
12 reporters by utilizing official reporters stationed in other division, if available,
13 when conducting proceedings in those division.
14 3. As employees of the Clerk’s staff, each court reporter is assigned a regular
15 tour of duty consisting of forty hours per week as specified by the Judge to
16 whom he or she is assigned. An answering machine or voice mail shall be
17 operational during any absence from their office. Court reporters shall be
18 assigned in a manner which best meet the actual court reporting needs of the
19 Court, regardless of whether the services are for active judges, senior judges,
20 or other judicial officials.
21 4. Out-of-district travel of court reporters shall be kept to a minimum. Judicial
22 Officers will utilize official reporters stationed in other districts, if available,
23 when conducting proceedings in those districts.
24 5. Reporter services for senior and magistrate judges shall be provided through a
25 combination of official reporters and contract court reporters.
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27 E. TRANSCRIPTS.
28 1. Reporters shall require that all transcript orders be made in writing. All
1 transcript orders e-filed with the Court will immediately send a Notice of
2 Electronic Filing (NEF) to the official court reporters. The reporters may
3 require a deposit, not to exceed the estimated costs of the transcript, before
4 beginning work on the transcript. Upon completion of the transcript and
5 receipt of full payment, the court reporter shall deliver the transcript to the
6 ordering party or parties in electronic or paper form. The court reporter shall
7 deliver on disk or e-mail the transcript to the Clerk of Court for e-filing within
8 three days after delivery to the party or parties. Reporters shall make their
9 records of transcript orders available to the Clerk upon request to insure that
10 transcripts are being delivered promptly.
11 2. Reporters shall not agree to “expedite” any transcript which will delay the
12 preparation of transcripts necessary for appeal. Unless otherwise directed by
13 the clerk, transcripts in civil cases generally should be prepared in the order in
14 which requests are received. Preparation of criminal transcripts generally shall
15 take precedence over preparation of civil transcripts.
16 3. Production of daily and hourly transcripts shall not be subsidized by the Court.
17 If extra reporters are required to produce expedited transcripts, their fees shall
18 be paid out of the earnings derived from those higher transcript rates
19 established by the Judicial Conference of the United States. Other court
20 reporters may, however, assist with the production of daily and hourly
21 transcripts when there are no other judicial proceedings to record, including
22 those of magistrate judges, and where no transcript backlog will result.
23 4. The rates charged for transcripts produced by court reporters must conform to
24 the current fee schedule (Appendix A).
25 5. Apportionment of accelerated transcript costs among parties in criminal cases
26 is prohibited.
27 6. Transcripts not delivered within the specified time periods prescribed by the
28 Court are subject to a fee discount provision as follows:
1 a. Transcripts ordered for District Court purposes shall be delivered
2 within thirty (30) days. Reporters who do not deliver transcript within
3 thirty (30) days may charge only 90% of the prescribed fee unless an
4 extension of time for the delivery of transcript has been granted by the
5 Clerk of the District Court. The extension of time, if granted, will not
6 exceed fifteen (15) days, unless extraordinary circumstances exist as
7 determined by the Clerk.
8 b. Transcripts ordered for appeal purposes shall be delivered within thirty
9 (30) days unless an extension of time for delivery of the transcript has
10 been granted by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals. Reporters who do
11 not deliver transcripts within thirty (30) days may charge only 90% of
12 the prescribed fee; reporters who do not deliver transcript within sixty
13 (60) days may charge only 80% of the prescribed fee, unless a waiver of
14 the sanction provision has been granted by the Clerk of the Court of
15 Appeals.
16 7. The original transcript must be submitted to the Clerk in .pdf format to be
17 electronically filed in accordance with the E-Government Act of 2002 within
18 three working days of delivery to the ordering party. Access to the e-filed
19 transcript shall be limited to the ordering party or view only in the Clerk’s
20 office for 90 days in accordance with Judicial Conference of the United States
21 policies. Due to privacy issues voir dire transcripts shall remain sealed
22 through PACER, but may be viewed at the public terminal in the Clerk’s
23 Offices.
24 8. Reporters are required to assure full compliance with format requirements of
25 the Administrative Office of the United States Courts and the Judicial
26 Conference of the United States.
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1 F. MAGISTRATE JUDGES.
2 Proceedings before the U.S. Magistrate Judges may be recorded by electronic
3 sound recording or by a court reporter. The Magistrate Judge shall determine which
4 technique is to be used in each case or hearing, taking into account the provisions of
5 28 USC 753(b) and 636 (c)(7). Court reporters shall be used to record misdemeanor
6 trials and related hearing before a U.S. Magistrate Judge if a timely demand for
7 services of a court reporter is made.
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9 G. MISCELLANEOUS.
10 1. Court reporters shall not perform any private (freelance) work.
11 2. The work of the court reporters shall be “note-readable” so that the
12 stenographic notes of a court reporter can be read by another reporter in the
13 event of an emergency.
14 3. A copy of the court reporter’s dictionary shall be filed in the court reporter
15 note storage area on the file server and updated every six months.
16 4. A copy of the computerized steno notes and/or corresponding logs shall be
17 kept in a location accessible by the clerk’s staff in case of the unavailability of
18 the court reporter for emergency production of transcript. The computerized
19 steno notes and logs are to be filed with the Clerk of Court upon termination of
20 employment. Transcripts will be produced by the Clerk’s Office only in the
21 event of unavailability or unwillingness of the court reporter to produce
22 transcripts.
23 5. The marking, filing and storing of reporters’ notes, compact disks, and
24 recorded tapes shall be in accordance with the note storage procedures
25 approved by this Court and outlined in this Plan (Appendix B).
26 6. Court reporters are encouraged to provide realtime translation upon request of
27 parties, but must comply with the Realtime Reporting Standards promulgated
28 by the Judicial Conference of the United States (Appendix C).
1 7. Court reporters shall earn annual leave in accordance with the provisions of
2 the Leave Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 6301, et seq. Guidelines for the
3 administration of leave are addressed in Chapter 3, of the Personnel Manual
4 for the Central District of Illinois.
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7 H. AUTHORITY OF CLERK.
8 The Clerk shall administer this Plan on behalf of the Court, and the Clerk is fully
9 authorized and empowered to implement and carry out the terms of this Plan. The
10 Clerk shall be responsible for the supervision of the work of the court reporters, and
11 for compliance with all requirements of the Judicial Conference of the United States
12 and of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. This plan shall take
13 effect upon approval of the Seventh Circuit Judicial Council and the Administrative
14 Office of United States Courts.
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16 Dated: May 27, 2008
17 s/ Michael P. McCuskey s/ Joe Billy McDade
18 _____________________________ _________________________________
MICHAEL P. McCUSKEY, Chief JOE BILLY McDADE
19 United States District Judge United States District Judge
20 s/ Michael M. Mihm s/ Jeanne E. Scott
21 _________________________________ _________________________________
MICHAEL M. MIHM JEANNE E. SCOTT
22 United States District Judge United States District Judge
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Attachment A was removed by Order of the Court
on 4/3/18. Transcript Fee Rate information may be found
in a separate document on the Court’s Internet site.
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APPENDIX B
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3 PROCEDURES FOR STORAGE OF COURT REPORTERS’ PAPER NOTES,
COMPACT DISKS, AND TAPES
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All original notes and tapes are to be relegated to the Clerk of Court within 90 days
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after the conclusion of the proceeding. If a transcript is ordered in a case where the notes
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have been submitted to the Clerk, the court reporter shall retrieve the notes from storage and
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shall refile the notes when the transcript is filed.
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Storage of Original Notes.
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1. All notes are to be chronologically filed and placed in FRC boxes which can be
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obtained from the Clerk’s Office.
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2. The outside of the box should be marked with a label indicating the court
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reporter’s name and calendar year, month and dates contained within.
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3. If the notes for a particular month are too voluminous to be stored in one box,
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use as many boxes as necessary and identify them in sequence. Conversely, if
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the notes for a particular month do not fill one box, several months’ notes may
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be stored in the box as long as it is identified.
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4. Each packet of notes is to be certified and should include the case number, case
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caption, presiding judge, date of proceeding and court reporter’s name.
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5. Each box of notes must contain a Filing Certification Form for Original Notes
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(Attachment 1). In order to maintain the security of original notes, it is
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recommended that each reporter place his/her notes in packets and secure them
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at the end of the day.
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Storage of Original Tape Recordings.
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The following procedure is to be followed if .wav files are not produced. In
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accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 753(b), court reporters are required to file with the Clerk of
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Court either a transcript or an electronic sound recording of all arraignments, pleas, and
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sentencings. Accordingly, all tape recordings of these proceedings are to be delivered to the
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1 Clerk of Court or Clerk’s office staff within 90 days after the conclusion of a proceeding.
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3 PROCEDURES FOR STORAGE OF COURT REPORTERS’ PAPERLESS NOTES
4 With the use of new paperless stenograph machines, the court reporter must now
5 provide the court with computer files of the steno notes rather than paper steno notes. To
6 ensure that the notes are accessible to the court, standards relative to the file format, file
7 name, file organization and media are included in the following general procedures for the
8 handling of paperless steno notes.
9 Overview
10 1. Copying directly from the notes files created by the steno machine, the steno notes
11 will be stored on one of the District network servers, ensuring that there is an off-site
12 copy of the notes available, while also providing data redundancy.
13 2. The steno notes files will also be copied to the court reporter's personal computer to a
14 folder named with the current month and year. Using the paperless steno machine's
15 accompanying software, the court reporter will print the steno notes to an Adobe
16 Acrobat PDF file, a recognized and accepted industry standard for document images,
17 named with the date or date range of the proceedings.
18 3. At the end of each month, the court reporter will copy that month's PDF files and raw
19 steno notes to a compact disk (CD). The CD will be clearly labeled as to its contents.
20 The CD will be stored in the District-owned CD cabinet.
21 Standards
22 1. Stored Notes on a Network Server. The paperless stenograph machines write the
23 notes to an electronic storage device. At least weekly, the court reporter will copy the
24 files from the electronic storage to the designated district network folder. Under a
25 shared network folder, each court reporter will have a folder named with the court
26 reporter's name. In the court reporter's folder, the court reporter will create a sub-
27 folder named with the date range of the notes it will contain. The naming convention
28 of "ddmmyy-ddmmyy" will be used for the folder names. The court reporter will
1 then copy the notes files from the electronic storage device to that folder. The next
2 set of notes from the next storage device will be copied to a new folder named with
3 that storage device date range.
4 2. File Format for the Printed Image. The court reporter will print each set of notes to
5 Adobe PDF file. The notes print to the PDF file in three columns set at 8 ½ x 11
6 inches, and each column of notes is identical in appearance of notes on regular steno
7 paper.
8 3. Folder Names for Steno Notes and PDF Files on the Court Reporter's PC. The raw
9 notes files and the PDF files will be stored in a folder on the court reporter's
10 computer, with a sub-folder created for each month and year. For example, if the
11 main steno note folder is C:\StenoNotes, then the folders for the first three months of
12 2003 would be named c:\stenonotes\jan2003, c:\stenonotes\feb2003, and
13 c:\stenonotes\mar2003. The court reporter will print the steno notes to PDF and save
14 the PDF files, along with the raw steno notes files, in the appropriate month/year
15 folder.
16 4. Steno Notes and PDF File Names. Adobe PDF files created from steno notes shall be
17 named with the date or date range of the proceedings plus a dash character "-" plus
18 the court reporter's initials (first-middle-last), in the format: ddmmyy-fml.pdf or
19 ddmmyy-ddmmyy-fml.pdf. Steno notes files should follow this date-name
20 convention, with the exception of the fact that the file extension will be the extension
21 employed for steno notes created by the court reporter's particular CAT software.
22 5. Creating Archive CD/DVDs. All steno notes files plus all text, .WAV files for each
23 month for each court reporter will be written to compact disk (CD/DVD). The court
24 reporter will create CD/DVD labels to adhere to the month's CD/DVD. The
25 CD/DVD labels will contain the court reporter's certification language as well as
26 lines on which to provide the dates of the notes and the court reporter's signature.
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1 6. CD/DVD Storage. Within thirty days following the close of a month, the court
2 reporter will file that month's CD/DVD in a common CD/DVD storage cabinet
3 designated by the court reporter supervisor.
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1 (Attachment 1)
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9 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
10 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
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14 FILING CERTIFICATION FORM FOR ORIGINAL NOTES
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16 In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 753, I hereby certify that the
original notes tendered herein for filing with the Clerk of Court are
17 the full, true and correct notes taken during oral proceedings in the
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois and
18 includes District Court, Magistrate Court, and other official
hearings held in said district.
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(Date) (Signature of Court Reporter)
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1 APPENDIX C
2 Realtime Reporting Standards
3 1. General Policy.
4 As adopted in March 1996, it is the policy of the Judicial Conference that effective
5 June 1, 1996, a new category of “realtime unedited transcript” has been established.
6 Realtime unedited transcript is defined as “a draft transcript produced by a Certified
7 Realtime Reporter (CRR) as a byproduct of realtime to be delivered electronically during the
8 proceedings or immediately following adjournment”. Realtime includes the following
9 services:
10 - The instantaneous translation of the proceedings on a computer
monitor;
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- The opportunity to scroll forward and backward, search the record for
12 key words or phrases and mark portions of the text using
viewer/annotation software; and
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- The realtime unedited transcript on diskette delivered during the
14 proceedings or at the end of the day.
15 When realtime services are requested by a party to the case, a CRR may charge and
16 collect for realtime unedited transcript. CRRs should not sell realtime unedited transcript to
17 anyone who is not a party to the case without prior approval of the presiding judge.
18 As adopted in March 1999, it is the policy of the Judicial Conference that a litigant
19 who orders realtime services will be required to purchase an original certified transcript of
20 the same pages of realtime unedited transcript at the regular rates (ordinary, expedited, daily,
21 or hourly). Likewise, a litigant who orders a copy of a realtime unedited transcript will be
22 required to purchase a certified copy of the same pages of realtime unedited copies at the
23 regular copy rates (ordinary, expedited, daily, or hourly.) Judicial Conference policy on
24 payments for transcripts ordered pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA) remains in
25 effect.
26 2. Qualifications of Reporters Who May Charge for Realtime Unedited Transcript.
27 a. Judicial Conference Policy.
28 Official court reporters who have successfully completed the certified Realtime
1 Reporter examination offered by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA),
2 or who have passed an equivalent qualifying examination, are recognized as Certified
3 Realtime Reporters. CRRs are permitted, but not required, to sell realtime unedited
4 uncertified transcript on diskette.
5 b. Equivalent Qualifying Examinations.
6 The CRR examination consists of five minutes of professionally audio-recorded
7 dictation (straight matter) at variable speeds ranging from 180-200 words per minute.
8 At a 96% accuracy rate, reporters must produce a simultaneous translation and
9 display of live proceedings utilizing computer-aided translation within 5 seconds of
10 stenotype input. Without editing, the reporter must produce an ASCII (computer
11 language) text file on diskette. Reporters are required to provide all necessary
12 personal equipment and software (computer, and display, write, cable, and realtime
13 software). Any other qualifying examination must be equivalent to the NCRA
14 examination.
15 3. Production.
16 The transcript formal guidelines prescribed be the Judicial Conference apply to
17 realtime unedited transcript with the following exceptions:
18 a. Realtime unedited transcript must be clearly marked as such with a header or
19 footer which appears at the top or bottom of each page of the transcript, or a
20 computer-generated watermark on each page stating, “Realtime Unedited
21 Transcript Only”.
22 b. The realtime unedited transcript should not include an appearance page, an
23 index, or a certification.
24 c. The diskette label may be of a different color than that used on diskettes
25 containing the text of certified transcript and hand stamped with the words,
26 “Realtime Unedited Transcript Only”.
27 Realtime unedited transcript sold on computer diskette may be in ASCII format, or
28 any other format requested by the ordering party and agreed to by the court reporter. It
1 should include any notations made to the electronic file by the ordering party during the
2 proceedings. Diskettes may not contain any protection or programming codes that would
3 prevent copying or transferring the data.
4 All parties requesting realtime services shall be responsible for providing their own
5 personal computers, viewer/annotation software, and monitors. Upon the request of the
6 parties, reporters may make equipment and software available at no additional charge. The
7 CRR shall provide wiring and data communications connections needed to provide realtime
8 services to these persons. Parties should coordinate and pre-test their equipment with the
9 CRR before official proceedings begin.
10 4. Distribution.
11 A CRR providing realtime unedited transcript should offer comparable services to all
12 parties to the proceeding. The primary purpose of realtime unedited transcript is to provide
13 access to a draft transcript of the proceedings on diskette at the end of each day. It is not
14 intended to be used in subsequent proceedings for impeachment or for any other purpose,
15 including further distribution.
16 It should be noted that when realtime unedited transcript is provided, there may be
17 two versions of the transcript for one proceeding - unofficial and official. The realtime
18 unedited transcript may contain errors, some of which could change the accuracy or meaning
19 of the testimony. A realtime unedited transcript will not satisfy the requirement for the
20 reporter to provide or file a certified transcript with the district court clerk or as the record
21 on appeal.
22 Realtime unedited transcript may only be distributed to ordering parties to the case. It
23 should not be made available to the public, including news organizations or other non-
24 participants. It is recommended that each CRR request that parties acknowledge receipt of a
25 realtime unedited transcript by signing a disclaimer which explicitly states that the ordering
26 party is aware that the realtime unedited transcript is not an official record of the court
27 proceedings. A sample Realtime Unedited Transcript Disclaimer is attached (Attachment 2).
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1 (Attachment 2)
2 SAMPLE
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4 REALTIME UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT DISCLAIMER IN THE MATTER OF
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8 v.
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12 The following transcript(s) of proceedings, or any portion thereof, in the above-entitled
matter, taken on any date, is being delivered UNEDITED and UNCERTIFIED by the
13 official court reporter at the request of .
14 The purchaser agrees not to disclose this realtime unedited transcript in any form (written or
electronic) to anyone who has no connection to this case. This is an unofficial transcript
15 which should NOT be relied upon for purposes of verbatim citation of testimony.
16 This transcript has not been checked, proofread or corrected. It is a draft transcript, NOT a
certified transcript. As such, it may contain computer-generated mistranslations of stenotype
17 code or electronic transmission errors, resulting in inaccurate or nonsensical word
combinations, or untranslated stenotype symbols which cannot be deciphered by non-
18 stenotypists. Corrections will be made in the preparation of the certified transcript, resulting
in differences in content, page and line numbers, punctuation, and formatting.
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This realtime unedited transcript contains no appearance page, certificate page, index, or
20 certification.
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Signature of Purchaser Date
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Signature of Official Reporter Date
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