Current Status Bill Number:4107 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:House Introduced Date:19950412 Primary Sponsor:Neilson, All Sponsors:Neilson, Kirsh, Moody-Lawrence, Jaskwhich and Hines Drafted Document Number:gjk\21478sd.95 Residing Body:House Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 25 HJ Subject:Court stenographers and reporters
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
House 19950412 Introduced, read first time, 25 HJ
referred to Committee
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
TO AMEND ARTICLE 1, CHAPTER 15, TITLE 14, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO COURT STENOGRAPHERS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THESE COURT STENOGRAPHERS MUST BE EMPLOYED BY THE STATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR AND NOT THE JUDGES OF THESE COURTS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1360, RELATING TO PERSONNEL OF THE FAMILY COURT SYSTEM, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT COURT REPORTERS FOR THE FAMILY COURT MUST BE EMPLOYED BY THE STATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR AND NOT THE JUDGES OF THESE COURTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Article 1, Chapter 15 of Title 14 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 14-15-10. There shall be at least one court stenographer for each judicial circuit of the State, who shall be appointed by the circuit judge of the respective circuits for a period not exceeding the term for which the circuit judge making the appointment was elected, and such court stenographer shall be subject to removal by the circuit judge making the appointment employed by the State Court Administrator as provided in this article. Court stenographers as necessary for the Circuit Courts of this State must be employed by the court administrators and not the judges of these courts. The office of court administration shall establish an annual evaluation system for these court stenographers which must include input from judges of the court in which the stenographer is employed and attorneys which appear before this court.
Section 14-15-15. Notwithstanding any provisions of law to the contrary, all court reporters employed by the Judicial Department shall be subject to removal by the judge or the Judicial Department only for just cause. In the event that a vacancy occurs in a circuit or family court judgeship, the judge who fills the vacancy shall not be empowered to replace the court reporter previously hired by his predecessor. The judge may hire a court reporter when a vacancy occurs in the court reporter's position.
Section 14-15-20. In all judicial circuits of the State which have a population of more than one hundred seventy-five thousand persons, as determined by the latest official United States census, the resident circuit judge State Court Administrator may appoint an assistant court stenographer whose duties, compensation, and term of office shall be the same as provided for chief stenographers in Sections 14-15-10, 14-15-30, and 14-15-40. Provided, that However, assistant court stenographers shall be available for assignment in other judicial circuits to substitute for regular stenographers who are sick or otherwise incapacitated. The Chief Justice shall make such assignments.
Section 14-15-30. Every stenographer so appointed, under the direction of the presiding judge of his circuit, shall take full stenographic notes of all proceedings including the rulings and charge of the court in every trial thereat. In case If the presiding judge or the solicitor, for use in criminal cases, shall require a transcript of such the stenographic notes, the stenographer shall furnish the same written out in full.
Section 14-15-40. The court stenographers shall, in addition to their salaries, receive such fees for all transcripts furnished litigants as shall be provided by rule of the Supreme Court. The court reporters shall furnish a transcript of any case or any part thereof of the case, after a demand for same has been made, within such time period as the Supreme Court shall provide by rule. Any sum so paid by any a party for the transcript of any a case or any part thereof of the case shall be considered a necessary disbursement in the taxation of cost.
Section 14-15-50. The resident circuit judge of the seventh judicial circuit may appoint some competent stenographer for the courts of general sessions for the seventh judicial circuit, who shall receive, in addition to his salary, the fees fixed by law for all transcripts furnished by him.
When the stenographer of the court of common pleas does not furnish transcripts as promptly as required by law and otherwise perform his duties, then the stenographer of the court of general sessions shall at once perform the duties of the stenographer of the court of common pleas until the stenographer of the court of common pleas shall have furnished all transcripts required and the stenographer of the court of general sessions shall receive the compensation and the fees of the stenographer of the court of common pleas while performing the duties as aforesaid.
Section 14-15-6014-15-50. The circuit judges of this State State Court Administrator may appoint a special court stenographer to act in the place and stead of the regular court stenographer in case of the sickness, absence, or inability to act of the regular court stenographer at any term or part of a term of either the court of common pleas or general sessions. Such The stenographer, when so appointed, shall receive not more than the sum of seven and one-half dollars per day provided by law for each day he may be in attendance upon the court. The presiding judge shall certify the number of days any such the special stenographer may be engaged in the court as such, and upon this certificate the Comptroller General shall draw his warrant upon the State Treasurer for the amount due such the stenographer for his services and the said State Treasurer may pay the same.
Section 14-15-7014-15-60. The presiding judge State Court Administrator at any special term of the Circuit Court may, when the official stenographer is performing the duties of his office at a court then being held in some other county of the circuit, may appoint a stenographer for such term of the court who shall perform the duties of the office of court stenographer for such that term.
Section 14-15-8014-15-70. The stenographer appointed under the provision of Section 14-15-70 14-15-60 shall receive the same compensation as that allowed by law to the official stenographer in proportion to the time of service, to be paid out of the county treasury upon the warrant of the clerk of the court, approved by the presiding judge State Court Administrator, and also the usual fees for copies of testimony and reports of court proceedings to be paid by the parties ordering the same."
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-1360 C. of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"C. The Family Courts shall be courts of record, and each Family Court Judge shall appoint a court reporter and a secretary who shall hold office at the pleasure of the judge. A court reporter for each Family Court Judge shall be employed by the State Court Administrator in the same manner court stenographers are employed by the court administration for the Circuit Courts. The court reporter shall take down and record the testimony and judge's rulings and charges, and transcribe such that portion of the proceedings as may be required. The court reporter and the secretary shall perform such other duties as the judge may prescribe."
SECTION 3. Court stenographers in the Circuit Court and court reporters in the Family Court serving in these capacities on the effective date of this act shall continue to serve at the will and direction of the State Court Administrator.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect July 1, 1995.