§985. Court reporters for the Thirty-First Judicial District

A. There shall be appointed one certified court reporter for each district judge in the Thirty-First Judicial District, and the qualifications, mode of appointment, duties, and compensation of the reporter shall be as provided in this Section.

B. Each judge shall appoint one certified court reporter whose term of office shall continue for the current term of the judge making the appointment, or until the office is declared vacated by the judge, or his successor in office.

C. Each certified court reporter shall take an oath of office and furnish bond for the faithful performance of his duties. The bond shall be in the sum of one thousand dollars and shall be in favor of the judge for the purpose of protecting litigants against any acts of incompetency or neglect of duty by the certified court reporter. The bond shall be recorded and filed in the office of the clerk of the district court. Any party litigant or aggrieved person may sue on the bond for any damage sustained through any wrongful act or neglect of duty by the certified court reporter in the performance of his or her duties; provided, that the aggregate liability of the surety to all such persons shall in no event exceed the sum of such bond.

D. Each certified court reporter shall report in shorthand, stenography, or in any recognized manner approved by the presiding judge, and transcribe into longhand by typing all the testimony taken in all civil appealable cases tried in open court, and furnish, for the purpose of appeal, the necessary copies of the testimony required by law. Each reporter shall also record such criminal proceedings as may be required by law or as directed by the district judge.

E. Each certified court reporter shall work concurrently under the direction and supervision of the judge appointing him, according to the needs and requirements in the district, in the interest of expediting the business before the court.

F. Each certified court reporter shall receive a monthly salary to be fixed and determined by the judge making the appointment. The salary shall be paid out of the criminal court fund, the indigent transcript fund, or the general fund of Jefferson Davis Parish. The police jury of Jefferson Davis Parish shall budget the salary of the certified court reporter in its budget of annual expenses.

G. In all cases which are reported and transcribed for appeal, a fee of two dollars and fifty cents per page for originals and twenty-five cents per page for each copy shall be charged by and paid to the reporter. In those cases which are reported but not transcribed, one-half of the fees provided herein for originals shall be charged by and paid to the reporter. Such fees shall be retained by the reporter as compensation, in addition to the salary provided for in Subsection F of this Section, and shall be assessed as costs of the suit in which the testimony is taken.

H. The police jury of the parish of Jefferson Davis shall furnish and provide each certified court reporter with an office or a suitable place of accommodations equipped with the necessary office furniture and supplies necessary for the reporting and transcription of any notes of evidence taken by the certified court reporter.

I. Each certified court reporter shall make out an itemized statement of the fees charged for reporting and transcribing the notes of evidence. Each reporter shall deliver the original of the statement to the clerk of the district court and a copy to the party litigant, or his attorney of record, who requested the evidence to be reported and transcribed. The party litigant, except one entitled to the benefits of Articles 5181 through 5188 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, shall pay to the certified court reporter immediately the fee charged. The fee shall be paid by a litigant entitled to the benefits of Article 5181 through 5188 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure only when the litigant recovers judgment for costs and realizes a sufficient amount therefrom to pay his fee.

Acts 1999, No. 1230, §1; Acts 2008, No. 521, §1.