Transcripts and Archives

Court Reporting Services

Guardianship of the record of courtroom proceedings is a key and historic responsibility of the court. Each court session and proceeding designated by statute, court rule, general order, or by order of an individual judge is recorded verbatim by stenotype or electronic sound recording equipment.

A court reporter (and court recorder) plays a significant role in ensuring the integrity and accuracy of the record. District judges select their preferred method of preserving the record. All stenotype reporters in the Alabama Middle District are real-time (simultaneous) reporters. The proceedings before magistrate judges are usually electronically recorded. Electronic audio recordings may be purchased from the Clerk's Office, or a transcript may be ordered.

The Alabama Middle District has three staff court reporters. Patricia Starkie can be contacted at (334) 262-1221, Katie Sears-Silas can be contacted at (334) 315-0363, Dee Coker can be contacted at (334) 799-1573, and Risa Entrekin can be contacted at (334) 531-0686.

Court reporting students who are completing their internship are invited to come sit with one of our staff reporters to accrue hours for their judicial internship requirements. Please contact our court reporters for more information and scheduling.

Archives

Criminal cases 2005 to the present, and civil cases 2005 to the present, will not be archived. These files are available electronically on PACER. You are able to request certified or uncertified photocopies of selected documents or the entire case file directly from the Clerk's Office.  

If you need to retrieve a file, you will need to provide the accession, location and box number(s) to Clerk's Office. Our archived files are stored in Atlanta, Georgia. If you have any further questions, please contact the Office of the Clerk at (334) 954-3600. Please have the case number handy, so that we can more efficiently assist you.

Will anyone be able to obtain a copy of the transcript during the initial 90‐day period after the certified transcript copy has been filed with the Clerk?

Yes, any counsel, party, or member of the public wanting a copy of a transcript, unless otherwise sealed, during the 90‐day period will be able to purchase a copy from the court reporter.

Will counsel, a party, or the public be able to review the transcript during the 90‐day period?

Yes, the transcript will be available for review and inspection at the court’s public terminal during the initial 90‐day period after the transcript is filed. However, the Clerk’s Office will not provide copies to counsel, a party or the public during the 90‐day period, but rather will refer anyone who wants a copy to the court reporter. In addition, any counsel or parties to a case who have received a transcript from a court reporter will be given access to the transcript through the ECF system. Counsel of record in a case who have not purchased a copy of the transcript from the court reporter will not have access to the transcript through ECF until they purchase it from the court reporter or until the 90‐day period has expired. Remote electronic access through PACER/ECF will be charged at the current rate.

Once the certified copy of the transcript is filed with the Clerk, may court reporters sell copies to other parties requesting the transcripts?

Yes, nothing in the new policies restricts counsel, parties, or the public from requesting copies of a transcript from a court reporter – during or after the 90‐day period.

How will a court reporter know when to redact a transcript?

The redaction of transcripts will be requested by parties to a case:
a. Within seven (7) business days of the transcript being delivered to the Clerk, the party will file a Notice of Intent to Redact
b. Within 21 calendar days of initial delivery of the transcript to the Clerk, the party will then follow‐up with a specific request for redaction noting the page numbers and line numbers where redaction is required. (Sample forms are posted on our website.)

When a court reporter electronically files a certified copy of the transcript with the Clerk, they also send the transcript to the ordering party. If a transcript is requested to be redacted, the court reporter sends the redacted copy of the transcript to

No. The redaction of information from the transcript is to remove certain personal information from remote electronic access through PACER and ECF. Therefore, there is no requirement to send a copy of the redacted transcripts to the parties who originally ordered the transcripts.

How are Redaction Requests to be handled?

Redaction Requests are e‐filed using the ECF event “Redaction Request – Transcript.” Although the docket entry is public, the PDF document is viewable only by case participants and court staff. Attach your proposed redactions to this document. (Sample forms are posted on our website.)

What are the personal identifiers that a party may request be redacted?

The redaction of the following personal identifiers should be requested:
a. Minors’ names: use the minors’ initials;
b. Financial account numbers: use only the last four numbers;
c. Social Security and Taxpayer Identification numbers: use only the last four
numbers;
d. Dates of birth: use only the year;
e. Home addresses in criminal cases: use only the city and state.

May parties move to redact other information in a transcript other than the specified identifiers?

Yes. While the court reporter is authorized to redact the specified personal identifiers noted in the answer to #7 above, the moving party must receive a ruling of the court before other information in the transcript may be redacted.

Is there a fee that the court reporter can charge for making the redactions?

No. The Judicial Conference has not authorized an additional fee for providing redacted transcripts to the court for the electronic records of the court.