(a) Electronic Filing of Transcripts by Court Reporters. The following procedures apply
to all court transcripts filed on or after May 19, 2008. The court reporter or transcriber
shall electronically file all court transcripts,2 including a completed version of the attached
“Notice of Filing of Official Transcript.” Upon request, the clerk shall make an electronic
version of any transcript available for public inspection without charge at the clerk’s office
public terminal. See 28 U.S.C. § 753(b).
(b) Availability of Transcripts of Court Proceedings. Electronically-filed transcripts of
court proceedings are subject to the following rules:
(1) A transcript provided to a court by a court reporter or transcriber will be available
at the clerk’s office for inspection for a period of ninety days after it is
electronically filed with the clerk. During the ninety-day inspection period, access
to the transcript in CM/ECF is limited to the following users: (a) court staff; (b)
public terminal users; (c) attorneys of record or parties who have purchased the
transcript from the court reporter or transcriber; and (d) other persons as directed
by the court. During the ninety-day period, court staff may not copy or print
transcripts for a requester and the transcript may not be printed from the public
computer terminals in the clerk’s office.
(2) During the ninety-day period, a copy of the transcript may be obtained from the
court reporter or transcriber at the rate established by the Judicial Conference. The
transcript will also be available within the court for internal use, and an attorney
who obtains the transcript from the court reporter or transcriber may obtain remote
electronic access to the transcript through the court’s CM/ECF system for purposes
of creating hyperlinks to the transcript in court filings and for other purposes.
(3) Within seven days of the filing of the transcript in CM/ECF, each party wishing to
redact a transcript must inform the court, by filing the attached “Notice of Intent
to Request Redaction,” of the party’s intent to redact personal data identifiers from
the transcript as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2. If no such notice is filed within the
allotted time, the court will assume redaction of personal data identifiers from the
transcript is not necessary.
(4) If redaction is requested, a party is to submit to the court reporter or transcriber and
file with the court, within twenty-one days of the transcript’s delivery to the clerk,
or longer if a court so orders, a statement indicating where the personal data
identifiers to be redacted appear in the transcript. The court reporter or transcriber
must redact the identifiers as directed by the party. These procedures are limited to
Contract court reporters may either file court transcripts electronically in the CM/ECF database
or submit an electronic PDF version of the transcript to the clerk, who will thereupon file it.
the redaction of the specific personal identifiers listed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2. If an
attorney wishes to redact additional information, he or she must make a motion to
the court. The transcript will not be electronically available until the court has ruled
on any such motion.
(5) The court reporter or transcriber must, within thirty-one days of the filing of the
transcript, or longer if the court so orders, perform the requested redactions and
file a redacted version of the transcript with the clerk. Redacted transcripts are
subject to the same access restrictions as outlined above during the initial ninety
days after the first transcript has been filed. The original unredacted electronic
transcript shall be retained by the clerk as a restricted document.
(6) If, after the ninety-day period has ended, there are no redacted documents or
motions linked to the transcript, the clerk will remove the public access restrictions
and make the unredacted transcript available for inspection and copying in the
clerk’s office and for download from the CM/ECF system.
(7) If, after the ninety-day period has ended, a redacted transcript has been filed with
the court, the clerk will remove the access restrictions as appropriate and make the
redacted transcript available for inspection and copying in the clerk’s office and
for download from the CM/ECF system or from the court reporter or transcriber.
