§964. Court reporters for Fourteenth Judicial District

            A. There shall be appointed as many official court reporters for the fourteenth judicial district as there are district judges in the district, and the qualifications, mode of appointment, duties and compensation of the reporters shall be as provided in this Section.

            B. Each judge shall appoint one court reporter, whose term of office shall continue for the current term of the judge making the appointment, or until the office is declared vacated by the judge making the appointment.

            C. Each court reporter shall take an oath of office and furnish bond for the faithful performance of his duties. The bond shall be in the sum of one thousand dollars and shall be in favor of the judges for the purpose of protecting litigants against any acts of incompetency or neglect of duty by the court reporter. The bond shall be recorded and filed in the office of the clerk of the district court. Any party litigant may sue on the bond for any damages sustained through any wrongful act or neglect of duty by the court reporter in the performance of his duties.

            D. The court reporters shall report in shorthand, stenotype, or in any recognized manner, and transcribe into longhand by typing or printing, all the testimony taken in all civil appealable cases, and to furnish for the purposes of appeal, the necessary carbon copies of the testimony required by law. They shall also record such criminal proceedings as may be required by law or as directed by the district judge.

            E. In addition to the duties set out in R.S. 13:964(D), each court reporter shall serve as secretary to the district judge appointing him and shall receive no compensation therefor, other than that provided in R.S. 13:964(G).

            F. The court reporters shall work concurrently under the direction and supervision of the judges appointing them, according to the needs and requirements in the district, in the interest of expediting the business before the court.

            G. The court reporters shall receive a monthly salary of not less than three hundred dollars, to be fixed and determined by the judge making the appointment at the time of the appointment. The salaries shall be paid out of the general fund of the parish of Calcasieu. The police jury of the parish of Calcasieu shall budget the salary of the court reporters in its budget of annual expenses.

            H. In all cases, a majority of the judges shall determine the amount of the fee which shall be paid to the court reporter for the transcription of each page of all testimony reported and transcribed and the amount of the fee per copy of each page of transcribed testimony. The provisions of this Subsection shall also apply to cases which are reported but not transcribed. Such fees shall be retained by the reporter as compensation, in addition to the salary provided for in Subsection G of this Section, and shall be taxed as costs of the suit in which the testimony is taken.

            I. The police jury of the parish of Calcasieu shall furnish and provide the court reporters with an office or a suitable place or accommodation equipped with necessary office furniture and supplies necessary for the reporting and transcription of any notes of evidence taken by the court reporters.

            J. The court reporter shall make out an itemized statement of the fees charged for reporting and transcribing the notes of evidence. He shall deliver the original of the statement to the clerk of the district court and a copy to the party litigant, or his attorney of record, who requested the evidence to be reported and transcribed. The party litigant, except one entitled to the benefits of Articles 5181 through 5188 of the Code of Civil Procedure, shall pay to the court reporter immediately the fee charged. The fee shall be paid by a litigant entitled to the benefits of Articles 5181 through 5188 of the Code of Civil Procedure only when the litigant recovers judgment for costs and realizes a sufficient amount therefrom to pay his fee.

            Amended by Acts 1956, No. 22, §1; Acts 1962, No. 36, §1; Acts 1970, No. 240, §1; Acts 1974, No. 329, §1; Acts 1978, No. 14, §2, eff. March 1, 1979; Acts 1991, No. 510, §1; Acts 1993, No. 641, §1; Acts 2017, No. 158, §1; Acts 2024, No. 234, §1.