 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
SCHILLING v. CITY OF TRUSSVILLE3/20/1998
reporter as follows:
"The official court reporter shall attend in person, except as otherwise herein provided, the sessions of court held in the circuit for which he is appointed, and in every case, where directed by the judge or requested by a party thereto, he shall take full stenographic notes of the oral testimony and proceedings, except argument of counsel, and note the order in which all documentary evidence is introduced, all objections of counsel, the rulings of the court thereon and exceptions taken or reserved thereto."
(Emphasis added.) It is evident here that the circuit court denied the appellant his right to have a court reporter present to transcribe the proceedings against him.
The case action summary sheet notes that Schilling did not make a showing of indigency before he requested that the trial be transcribed. Absent a showing of indigency, the defendant is accountable for the fee for the court reporter, which is taxed as part of the assessment of court costs. § 12-17-277, Ala. Code 1975. However, a circuit court's duty to appoint a court reporter in a particular case is not contingent upon a defendant's showing of indigency.
The State also argues that the appellant was not denied due process of law because a substitute to a trial transcript was available through the application of Rule 10(d), Ala.R.App.P. However, Rule 10(d) is not applicable to criminal cases. Fair v. City of Birmingham, 586 So.2d 257, 258 (Ala.Cr.App. 1991). "The general rule is that there will be no designation of the record in criminal appeals." Committee Comments to Rule 10, Ala.R.App.P. Due to the nature of a criminal prosecution, the "parties may not simply agree to the facts, the evidence, and the proceedings that constitute the record on appeal in a criminal case in this state." Fair, 586 So.2d at 258.
The circuit court is a court of record. Unless its presence is waived by the defendant, a court reporter is required by law for a criminal trial. Therefore, we must reverse the judgment and remand the case to the circuit court for a new trial.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
All the Judges concur.
|