In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.535

Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC2023-1170
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IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF GENERAL
PRACTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION 2.535.

November 7, 2024

PER CURIAM.

The Florida Bar’s Rules of General Practice and Judicial

Administration Committee has filed a report proposing amendments

to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration

2.535 (Court Reporting). 1 The Committee approved the

amendments by a vote of 16-9-0, and The Florida Bar’s Board of

Governors recommends their acceptance by a vote of 36-9-0.

Prior to filing its report with this Court, the Committee

published a set of proposed amendments to rule 2.535 in The

Florida Bar News. The Committee received no comments, but it

received a request from the Florida Court Reporters Association

1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; see
also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(b).
(FCRA) and attorney Paul Regensdorf. Regensdorf and the FCRA

asked the Committee to consider deleting subdivision (f)(9), which

imposes a 200-page limitation on filed transcripts. The Committee

then revised its proposal to delete subdivision (f)(9). However, the

Committee made several other revisions that were not included in

its previous draft. These changes included a proposed overhaul of

the formatting rules for court reporter transcripts, with new

requirements for fonts, spacing, pagination, and margins.

We published the Committee’s revised proposal for comment

and received one comment from the FCRA expressing opposition to

the amendments. The Committee filed a response. After

consideration of the Committee’s report, the FCRA’s comment, the

Committee’s response, and oral argument, we hereby adopt the

amendments in part. However, we decline to adopt the proposed

changes to the court reporter transcript formatting requirements at

this time.

Specifically, subdivision (f) (Transcripts) is restructured so that

related subject matter is addressed within newly renumbered

subdivisions. Also, a reference to rule 2.525 (Electronic Filing) is

deleted and replaced with a general reference to the requirements

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set by the portal, and subdivision (f)(9) (the provision setting a 200-

page limitation for transcripts) is deleted.

In addition to these changes, minor technical revisions are

made throughout rule 2.535 to provide enhanced clarity and to

conform the rule with our Guidelines for Rules Submissions.

Accordingly, the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial

Administration are amended as reflected in the appendix to this

opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring; deletions are

indicated by struck-through type. The amendments shall become

effective January 1, 2025, at 12:01 a.m.

It is so ordered.

MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS,
FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration

Hon. Santo DiGangi, Chair, Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration Committee, West Palm Beach, Florida, Kristin A.
Norse, Past Chair, Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration Committee, Tampa, Florida, Joshua E. Doyle,
Executive Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, and Kelly
Noel Smith, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida,

for Petitioner

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Alan Lawson, Jessica Slatten, and Jason Gonzalez of Lawson Huck
Gonzalez, PLLC, on behalf of Florida Court Reporters Association,
Inc., Tallahassee, Florida,

Responding with comments

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APPENDIX

RULE 2.535. COURT REPORTING

(a) Definitions.

(1) – (3) [No Change]

(4) “Court reporting” means the act of making a
verbatim record of the spoken word, whether by the use of written
symbols, stenomask equipment, stenographic equipment, or
electronic devices, in any proceedings pending in any of the courts
of this state, including all related discovery proceedings conducted
in connection therewith, any proceedings reported for the court’s
own use, and all proceedings required by statute to be reported by
an approved court reporter or civil court reporter. It does not mean
the act of taking witness statements not intended for use in court
as substantive evidence.

(5) – (6) [No Change]

(b) When Court Reporting Requiredin Proceedings Not
Required to be Reported at Public Expense. Any proceeding
shallthat is not required to be reported at public expense may be
reported on the request of any party. The requesting party so
requesting shall pay the reporting feesmust engage and pay the fees
of a court reporter, but this requirement shalldoes not preclude the
taxation of costs as authorized by law.

(c) Record. When trial proceedings are being reported, no
part of the proceedings shall beis omitted unless all of the parties
agree to do so and the court approves the agreement. When a
deposition is being reported, no part of the proceedings shallmay be
omitted unless all of the parties and the witness so agree. When a
party or a witness seeks to terminate or suspend the taking of a
deposition for the time necessary to seek a court order, the court
reporter shallmust discontinue reporting the testimony of the
witness.

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(d) Ownership of Records. The chief judge of the circuit in
which a proceeding is pending, in his or herthe chief judge’s official
capacity, is the owner of all records and electronic records made by
an officialapproved court reporter or quasi-judicial officer in
proceedings required to be reported at public expense and
proceedings reported for the court’s own use.

(e) Fees. The chief judge shall havehas the discretion to
adopt an administrative order establishing maximum fees for court
reporting services. Any suchThe order must make a specific factual
finding that the setting of such maximum fees is necessary to
ensure access to the courts. Such finding shallFindings must
include consideration of the number of court reporters in the
county or circuit, any past history of fee schedules, and any other
relevant factors.

(f) Transcripts.

(1) Transcripts of all judicial proceedings, including and
depositions, shallmust be uniform in and for all courts throughout
the state and shallmust be stored in an electronic format sufficient
to communicate the information contained in proceedings in a
readable format, and capable of being transmitted electronically in
Portable Document Format (“PDF”)as set forth in rule 2.525 in
compliance with all requirements set by the portal or other
authorized electronic filing system. Any transcripts stored in
electronic form must be capable of being printed in accordance with
this rule.

(2) The form, size, spacing, and method of printing
transcripts are as follows of all transcripts must conform to the
following requirements:

(1A) All proceedings shall be printedTranscripts
must be printable on paper 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size and
bound on the left.

(2B) There shall beEach page must contain no
fewer than 25 printed lines per page with all linesconsecutively

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numbered 1 through 25, respectively, and with no more than a
double space between lines.

(3C) Font size or print shall be 9 or 10 pica, 12-
point courier, or 12-point Times New Roman print with no less than
56 characters per line on questions and answers unless the text of
the speaker ends short of marginal requirements.

(4D) Colloquy material shallmust begin on the same
line following the identification of the speaker, with no more than 2
spaces between the identification of the speaker and the
commencement of the colloquy. The identification of the speaker in
colloquy shallmust begin no more than 10 spaces from the left
margin, and carry-over colloquy shallmust be indented no more
than 5 spaces from the left margin.

(5E) Each question and answer shallmust begin on
a separate line no more than 5 spaces from the left margin with no
more than 5 spaces from the “Q” or “A” to the text. Carry-over
question and answer lines shallmust be brought to the left margin.

(6F) Quoted material shallmust begin no more than
10 spaces from the left margin with carry-over lines beginning no
more than 10 spaces from the left margin.

(7G) Indentations of no more than 10 spaces may
be used for paragraphs, and all spaces on a line as herein provided
shallmust be used unless the text of the speaker ends short of
marginal requirements.

(8H) One-line parentheticals may begin at any
indentation. Parentheticals exceeding 1 line shallmust begin no
more than 10 spaces from the left margin, with carry-over lines
being returned to the left margin.

(9) Individual volumes of a transcript, including
depositions, shall be no more than 200 pages in length, inclusive of
the index.

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(103) Deviation from these standards shallis not
constitute grounds for limiting use of transcripts in the trial or
appellate courts proceedings.

(g) Officers of the Court. Approved court reporters, civil
court reporters, and approved transcriptionists are officers of the
court for all purposes while acting as court reporters in judicial
proceedings or discovery proceedings or as transcriptionists.
Approved court reporters, civil court reporters, and approved
transcriptionists shallmust comply with all rules and statutes
governing the proceeding that are applicable to court reporters and
approved transcriptionists.

(h) Court Reporting Services at Public Expense.

(1) When Reporting Is Required. All proceedings
required to be reported by law, court rule, or administrative order to
be reported shall beare reported at public expense.

(2) [No Change]

(3) Circuit Plan. The chief judge, after consultation with
the circuit court and county court judges in the circuit, shallmust
enter an administrative order developing and implementing a
circuit-wide plan for the court reporting of all proceedings required
to be reported at public expense using either full or part timepart-
time court employees or independent contractors after consultation
with the circuit court and county court judges in the circuit. The
plan shallmust ensure that all court-required reporting services are
provided by approved court reporters or approved transcriptionists.
This plan may provide for multiple service delivery strategies if they
are necessary to ensure the efficient provision of court reporting
services. Each circuit’s plan for court reporting services shall beis
developed after consideration of guidelines issued by the Office of
the State Courts Administrator.

(4) Electronic Recording and Transcription of
Proceedings Without Court Reporters. A chief judge may enter and
must have recorded a circuit-wide administrative order, which shall
be recorded, authorizing the electronic recording and subsequent

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transcription by approved court reporters or approved
transcriptionists, of any judicial proceedings, including depositions,
that are otherwise required to be reported by a court reporter.
Appropriate procedures shall be prescribed in the order which
shallmust include:

(A) set forth responsibilities for the court’s support
personnel to ensure a reliable record of the proceedings;

(B) provide a means to have the recording
transcribed by approved court reporters or approved
transcriptionists, either in whole or in part, when necessary for an
appeal or for further use in the trial court; and

(C) provide for the safekeeping of suchthe
recordings.

(5) Safeguarding Confidential Communications When
Electronic Recording Equipment Is Used in the Courtroom.

(A) Court personnel shallmust provide notice to
participants in a courtroom proceeding that electronic recording
equipment is in use and that theythe participants should safeguard
information they do not want recorded.

(B) Attorneys shallmust take all reasonable and
available precautions to protect disclosure of confidential
communications in the courtroom. Such precautionsPrecautions
may include muting microphones or going to a designated location
that is inaccessible to the recording equipment.

(C) [No Change]

(6) Grand Jury Proceedings. Testimony in grand jury
proceedings shallmust be reported by an approved court reporter,
but shall cannot be transcribed unless required by order of court
order. Other parts of grand jury proceedings, including
deliberations and voting, shallmust not be reported. The approved
court reporter’s work product, including stenographic notes,

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electronic recordings, and transcripts, shall beare filed with the
clerk of the court under seal.

(i) Court Reporting Services in Capital Cases. The chief
judge, after consultation with the circuit court judges in the circuit,
shall enter enters an administrative order developing and
implementing a circuit-wide plan for court reporting in all trials in
which the state seeks the death penalty and in capital
postconviction proceedings after consultation with the circuit court
judges in the circuit. The plan shallmust prohibit the use of digital
court reporting as the court reporting system and shall require the
use of all measures necessary to expedite the preparation of the
transcript, including, but not limited to, the:

(1) where available, the use of an approved court
reporter who has the capacity to provide real-time transcription of
the proceedings, if available;

(2) if real-time transcription services are not available,
the use of a computer-aided transcription qualified court reporter if
real-time transcription services are not available;

(3) the use of scopists, text editors, alternating court
reporters, or other means to expedite the finalization of the certified
transcript; and

(4) the imposition of reasonable restrictions on work
assignments by employee or contract approved court reporters to
ensure that transcript production in capital cases is given a
priority.

(j) Juvenile Dependency and Termination of Parental
Rights Cases. Transcription of hearings for appeals of orders in
juvenile dependency and termination of parental rights cases shall
beare given priority, consistent with rule 2.215(g), over transcription
of all other proceedings, unless otherwise ordered by the court
based upon a demonstrated exigency.

Committee Note

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The definitions of “electronic record” in subdivision (a)(5) and
of “official record” in subdivision (a)(6) are intended to clarify that
when a court proceeding is electronically recorded by means of
audio, analog, digital, or video equipment, and is also recorded via a
written transcript prepared by a court reporter, the written
transcript shall beis the “official record” of the proceeding to the
exclusion of all electronic records. While the term “record” is used
within Rule 2.535 and within Fla. R. App. P. 9.200, it has a
different meaning within the unique context of each rule.
Accordingly, the meaning of the term “record” as defined for
purposes of this rule does not in any way alter, amend, change, or
conflict with the meaning of the term “record” as defined for
appellate purposes in Fla. R. App. P. 9.200(a).

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