CA CSR Practice

Q. How long must you keep criminal notes?

A. 10 years.

Q. How long must you keep civil notes?

A. 10 years.

Q. How long must you keep death penalty/capital notes?

A. Forever - unless ordered by Supreme Court to destroy.

Q. How long must you keep deposition notes?

A. 1 year if transcribed; 8 years if not.

Q. If no paper notes are kept, how many sources of backup media must be retained?

A. 2 sources.

Q. When can you go on/off the record?

A. When all parties stipulate.

Q. When MUST you go off the record?

A. When ordered by the court; when notified by a party to the action that they are going to move for a protective order.

Q. What code is examination in a deposition covered under?

A. Evidence code.

Q. The reporter's duty is under what code?

A. Civil Code of Procedure.

Q. When the transcript is available for signing, who does the reporter notify?

A. All parties.

Q. How long does the deponent have to read/sign/make changes?

A. 30 days.

Q. What do you do once that time period is up?

A. Notify all parties of changes/approval/refusal to sign; note the refusal on the transcript.

Q. What happens if the deponent refuses to sign the original?

A. The transcript will remain in full force and effect.

Q. Does the certified transcript get filed with the court?

A. No. The noticing attorney must keep it for 6 months, then it can be destroyed.

Q. When is the interpreter sworn in?

A. Very first, before the witness.

Q. Where do you list the interpreter?

A. In Appearances.

Q. Who must be notified of any personal/financial interests/conflicts?

A. All parties.

Q. What kind of personal interest must you notify the parties of?

A. If you're related to someone or work for them.

Q. Who must the transcript be available to at all times?

A. All parties.

Q. What does the reporter do with the exhibits in a depo?

A. Mark them for identification; retain and attach to transcript.

Q. What happens when a deponent refuses to answer a question or provide information?

A. The attorney can seek a court order for motion to compel.

Q. The deponent has how many days to report to the court and answer?

A. 60 days from the date of the deposition.

Q. What must be on a court transcript title page on each volume number?

A. Title of the case; trial court number; names of the trial courts; each participating trial judge; names and addresses of the appellate counsel for each party; volume number and inclusive page numbers; dates of the proceedings reported in that volume.

Q. There must be a cover for each transcript prepared on appeal for which courts?

A. Superior Court and Appellate Court.

Q. What pages must the reporter's license number be on?

A. The cover page and certificate page.

Q. On the index page, the transcript must contain what kind of indexes?

A. Chronological and alphabetical.

Q. What do the indexes list?

A. The volume and page number where each witness's examination begins; the volume and page number where an exhibit is marked for identification and where it is admitted/refused.

Q. Where is everyone attending the depo listed?

A. Under Appearances or Also Present page head note on the second page.

Q. What does the title page include?

A. The name of the superior court; plaintiff and defense case title; case number; the witness being deposed; attorney's name; location of the depo; date and time of the depo; reporter's name and license number.

Q. Where are exhibits listed?

A. In the index.

Q. When are exhibits listed in both chronological and alphabetical order?

A. In criminal and civil appeal.

Q. What is the format for case law citations?

A. Volume, book, series, page number.

Q. What happens when the attorney takes custody of the exhibits?

A. They are to be noted in the index.

Q. Who handles exhibits in court?

A. The clerk.

Q. how many characters per line?

A. 56 without timestamping; 52 with timestamping.

Q. How many lines per page?

25

Q. When does the left-hand margin begin?

A. At first character of line of text.

Q. Text begins how many spaces from the left-hand margin?

A. 10.

Q. Parenthetical and exhibit markings of two lines or more are how many characters per line?

A. 35.

Q. What does it mean to have a partial transcript?

A. Only those portions of the oral proceedings and instructions designated in the notice of the parties shall be transcribed.

Q. What if a portion of a witness's testimony is designated by either party to be included?

A. The whole of his testimony shall be included unless the parties stipulate otherwise.

Q. What does the reporter do when omissions of oral proceedings occur?

A. Note in the transcript where they occur and the nature of the omitted matter.

Q. What does the reporter do when exhibits are introduced?

A. Note in the transcript in the place where exhibits were received in evidence or were offered and marked for identification, and identify the exhibits so received or so offered.

Q. In criminal/civil proceedings, when does the reporter prepare the transcript?

A. The reporter provides the portion of the transcript as requested by appellant or litigant.

Q. What does it mean when the reporter issues a certification?

A. The transcript is true and correct.

Q. Rough draft transcripts cannot be what?

A. Certified, used, or cited.

Q. In criminal court, the transcript is due when?

A. No later than 20 days after the notice of appeal is filed.

Q. Who grants extensions of time for preparing the record?

A. The reviewing court (Appellate Court).

Q. How long is one extension?

A. 60 days.

Q. How is an extension decided?

A. By the presiding judge/court administrator; must certify that it is reasonable/necessary in light of reporter's workload.

Q. The reporter delivers a death penalty transcript and all copies to clerk when?

A. No later than 20 days after the notice to prepare the transcript.

Q. Death penalty cases have transcripts due when?

A. Daily.

Q. In civil cases, the reporter files an estimate when?

A. Within 10 days within receipt of request of notice of appeal.

Q. Once the request for transcript is received, when does the reporter deliver the transcript?

A. Within 20 days.

Q. With a civil transcript, how does a reporter obtain an extension?

A. File an affidavit showing good cause.

Q. In a preliminary hearing, the reporter has how many days to deliver transcript?

A. Within 10 days of the defendant being held to answer the charge of a felony.

Q. Are there extensions for preliminary transcripts?

A. No.

Q. Preliminary transcripts have how many transcripts?

A. Original + one copy for each defendant.

Q. Before billing or being paid for the preliminary transcript, what must the reporter do?

A. File an affidavit saying that the transcript has been filed.

Q. What happens if the preliminary transcript does not get delivered in 10 days?

A. Reporter is docked 50% of pay; may be deemed incompetent.

Q. When are Grand Jury transcripts due?

A. Within 10 days.

Q. How long are extensions for Grand Jury transcripts?

20 days.

Q. What happens if the transcript is not delivered on time?

A. The reporter will be deemed incompetent.

Q. What does the reporter do with Marsden hearings?

A. Note in the index where it took place and note "sealed."

Q. With death penalty transcripts, within 30 days of date of delivery of transcript, each counsel must serve and file a declaration stating what?

A. That counsel or someone under their supervision has performed the task required.

Q. Can a signature on a deposition be waived?

A. Yes. Parties can stipulate that the transcript will be in full force and effect.

Q. Who does the reporter give the deposition transcript to?

A. The noticing attorney.

Q. When does the reporter give the deposition to the noticing attorney?

A. Once it has been signed or 30 days has expired.

Q. Who may the transcript be sold to?

A. Any party or non party.

Q. Who must the reporter mail a notice of request of the transcript to?

A. All parties attending the depo and to the deponent at his last known address.

Q. After 30 days of mailing the notice and no protective order has been served, what does the reporter do?

A. Make the copy available to whoever is requesting it.

Q. Who bears the cost of the transcript?

A. The noticing party (unless court orders otherwise or parties stipulate).

Q. Who can obtain a transcript copy?

A. Anyone, at their own expense.

Q. What is the name of each sworn trial juror replaced with?

A. An identifying number.

Q. Where is it replaced?

A. Whenever it appears in any documents.

Q. Where are the jurors names and number info kept?

A. By the superior court clerk under seal in the case file.

Q. What must be deleted from all documents?

A. The addresses and telephone numbers of jurors and alternates.

Q. Must the identifying info or jurors called but not sworn as jurors be sealed?

A. No.

Q. How many members are in the CSR Board?

A. 5; 3 public and 2 CSRs.

Q. How long can their terms be?

A. 2 consecutive terms; 4 years each.

Q. Who does the governor appoint?

A. 1 public member, 2 CSRs.

Q. Who does the Senate Rule Committee appoint?

A. 1 public member.

Q. Who does the Speaker Assembly appoint?

A. 1 public member.

Q. When do you pay for the renewal of your CSR license?

A. On the last day of your birth month.

Q. After 3 years of nonrenewal, what happens?

A. You must retake the exam.

Q. A reporter must notify the board of a change of address within how many days?

A. 30.

Q. If she doesn't, what is the fine?

A. $50.

Q. How much is the Transcript Reimbursement Fund for each fiscal year?

A. $300,000.

Q. Reporters are licensed under what?

A. Chapter 13, Division 3.

Q. The certified transcript is what kind of evidence?

A. Prima Facie.

Q. Where is the reporter's license number required to be?

A. the first page of the transcript; on any advertisement; on any telephone listing.

Q. What code number is examination of an adverse witness?

A. 776.

Q. What does folio mean?

A. 100 words.

Q. How much does each folio cost?

A. $.85 (original).

Q. How much for each copy (also purchasing the original)?

A. $.15

Q. How much per folio for anyone buying the first copy, but not simultaneously buying the original?

A. $.20

Q. How much for each additional copy purchased at the same time?

A. $.15

Q. What code is motion to suppress illegally seized evidence?

A. 1538.5

Q. In a case law citation, what does only one page number signify?

A. Where the case starts.

Q. What if there is a second page number?

A. It shows where the point being made is located.