FILED
January 09, 2026
CLERK, U.S. DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JGB
BY: ________________________________
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DEPUTY
WACO DIVISION
STANDING ORDER FOR REQUESTING TRANSCRIPTS OF
HEARINGS BEFORE A MAGISTRATE JUDGE
This Order applies to all transcript requests for hearings held before a Magistrate Judge.
Generally, hearings held before a Magistrate Judge are not conducted before a live court
reporter and are instead electronically recorded using a program called For the Record (“FTR”).
You must review the “minute entry” of a proceeding to determine whether it was either:
Reported by a court reporter (transcript available); or
Audio-Recorded on FTR (copy of audio available and/or transcript available).
For hearings Reported by a court reporter, the contact information for the reporter will
appear on the minute entry, and a transcript can be obtained by:
1. Requesting the transcript (orally or by email) from the listed court reporter;
2. Completing Transcript Order Form (AO 435), flatten the PDF; and
3. File a Transcript Request in CM/ECF under “Other Documents” (see below).
For hearings Audio-Recorded on FTR, a minute entry of the proceedings will list the Court
Reporter as “FTR,” as shown in the below exemplar docket entry:
For these Audio-Recorded hearings, a copy of the proceedings is available upon request
and payment by either:
A. Requesting a transcript of the digitally recorded court proceeding to be made by a
court-approved reporter, OR
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B. Ordering the audio recording, in a digital audio format.
A party may not request both options, and once any party requests option (A), no audio
recordings will be made available for purchase.
Requests for either must be made in writing to Judge Derek T. Gilliland’s Courtroom
Deputy Melissa Copp at
[email protected], or to Judge Dan
MacLemore’s Courtroom Deputy Abigail Ernstes at
[email protected].
• To request a transcript, please also then complete steps (2) and (3) above (fill out
AO435 Form and submit on CM/ECF).
• To request an audio recording, please complete out the Audio Recording Order
form (AO 436) and e-file the form to CM/ECF (using the same “Transcript
Request” selection as discussed above). Please also submit a $34.00 payment
made out to “Clerk, US District Court” and mail it to US Courthouse, 800
Franklin Ave., Room 380, Waco, Texas 76701. Please note that it is for a Tape
Duplication of an Audio File in Case No XX-YYYY.
NOTE ON OFFICIAL COURT TRANSCRIPTS
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 753(b) states: “No transcripts of the proceedings of the court
shall be considered as official except those made from the records certified by the reporter or
other individual designated to produce the record.”
The statute, 28 U.S.C. § 753, requires the Court to supervise all aspects of the court
reporting and transcription process. The Court has complete control over who produces an
official transcript of court proceedings. While an attorney may create a transcript from a copy of
a sound recording, that transcript will not be an official record suitable for filing with the Court
unless the Court specifically approves it as the official record.
Therefore, if any party intends to utilize a transcript, the Court highly recommends that
parties request a transcript of a proceeding rather than an audio file.
SIGNED this 9th day of January 2026.
________________________________ _____________________________
DAN MACLEMORE DEREK T. GILLILAND
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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