Rule 74.Recording Proceedings; Transcripts; Audio Recordings

Section (A) puts a mandatory duty on the judges of Indiana’s circuit, superior, probate, city, town, and Marion County Small Claims courts: arrange for an audio recording of every hearing and trial, across every type of case. Earlier versions of this rule only authorized courts to arrange recording if they chose to; the current rule makes it a requirement. The recording has to capture the oral evidence and testimony — questions and answers alike — the judge’s rulings on the admission or rejection of evidence and any objections to those rulings, and any other oral matters that come up during the hearing.

Section (B) leaves the choice of equipment, and who runs it, to the court: the recording device or computer-aided transcription equipment must be one the court selects and approves, and it can be supervised by the official court reporter or by another person the court designates. Audio recording is the floor, not a ban on traditional methods — a court can still use shorthand or stenography, as long as it also meets the audio-recording requirement in section (A).

Sections (C) and (D) separate two different requests a party might make. Getting a transcript for an appeal runs through the Notice of Appeal, following the Indiana Rules of Appellate Procedure. Requesting a transcript for any other purpose takes a written request that specifically identifies what needs to be transcribed. Either way, the court reporter or a designee prepares it, following Indiana statutes, the Indiana Office of Court Services’ Court Reporter Handbook, and the Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records. A party who wants the raw audio recording itself, rather than a written transcript, can get a copy of that too, by written request, produced under the same set of standards. Section (E) leaves the powers, duties, and salaries of court reporters to Indiana Code 33-41, rather than restating that framework here.