Transcript Costs Court reporter appearance fees may be awarded in addition to the per page limit, but pursuant to Local Rule 54.1(b) and The District Court Fund – Regulation 4(B), the fees shall not exceed the
rates published on the Court website unless another rate was previously provided by order of court.
Transcript in CJA Cases In multi-defendant cases involving CJA defendants, no more than one transcript should be purchased from the court reporter on behalf of CJA defendants. One of the appointed counsel or the clerk of court should arrange for the duplication, at commercially competitive rates, of enough copies of the transcript for each of the CJA defendants for whom a transcript has been approved. The cost of such duplication will be charged to the CJA appropriation. This policy would not preclude the furnishing of duplication services by the court reporter at the commercially competitive rate.
Court Reporters
Statutory Authority
"The reporters shall be subject to the supervision of the appointing court and the Judicial Conference in the performance of their duties including dealing with parties requesting transcripts." (28 USC § 753(c).)
"Each reporter may charge and collect fees for transcripts requested by the parties, including the United States, at rates prescribed by the court subject to the approval of the Judicial Conference. He or she shall not charge a fee for any copy of a transcript delivered to the clerk for the records of the court. Fees for transcripts furnished in criminal proceedings to persons proceeding under the Criminal Justice Act (18 USC § 3006A), or habeas corpus proceedings to persons allowed to sue, defend or appeal in forma pauperis, shall be paid by the United States out of money appropriated for that purpose. Fees for transcripts furnished in proceedings brought under section 2255 of this title to persons permitted to sue or appeal in forma pauperis shall be paid by the United States out of money appropriated for that purpose if the trial judge or a circuit judge certifies that the suit or appeal is not frivolous and that the transcript is needed to decide the issue presented by the suit or appeal. Fees for transcripts furnished in other proceeding to persons permitted to appeal in forma pauperis shall also be paid by the United States if the trial judge or a circuit judge certifies that the appeal is not frivolous (but presents a substantial question). The reporter may require any party requesting a transcript to prepay the estimated fee in advance except as to transcripts that are to be paid for the the Unites States." (28 USC § 753.)
Judicial Conference Policy
"The Conference, pursuant to 28 USC § 753(f) authorized district courts to prescribe fees which court reporters may charge and collect for transcripts requested by the parties, including the United States, at the approved rates." (Report of the Proceedings of the Judicial Conference of the United States, March 1980, pages 17 and 18.)