ORDER APPROVING AMENDED LOCAL RULE

ADOPTED PURSUANT TO ADMINISTRATIVE RULE 15

The judge of the Circuit Court of Fountain County have forwarded for approval by this Court an amendment to the local rule for the regulation of court reporter services in accordance with Ind.Administrative Rule 15. Such amendment for Fountain County is set forth as an attachment to this order. This Court finds that special circumstances exist and there are compelling factors to allow additional increases in per page rates for transcript preparation.

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED by this Court that the attached Amended Local Rule, submitted October 20, 2003, by the Fountain Circuit Court Regarding Administrative Rule 15 is approved.

The Clerk of this Court is directed to forward a copy of this order to the judge in the Fountain Circuit Court and the Clerk of such court.

The Clerk of the Fountain Circuit Court is directed to enter this order in the Record of Judgments and Orders for such court and post this order for examination by the Bar and general public of Fountain County.

DONE at Indianapolis, Indiana, this ________ day of November, 2003.

FOR THE COURT

________________________________

Randall T. Shepard

Chief Justice of Indiana

STATE OF INDIANA FOUNTAIN CIRCUIT COURT

SS:

FOUNTAIN COUNTY 2003 TERM

IN THE MATTER OF COURT

APPOINTMENTS AND RULES

OF THE FOUNTAIN CIRCUIT

COURT 23C01-0201-MI-

AMENDED LOCAL RULE PER ADMINISTRATIVE RULE 15,

INDIANA SUPREME COURT

Pursuant to Administrative Rule 15 of the Indiana Supreme Court, the Court now adopts the following local rule by which all court reporter services in Fountain County shall be governed until further order of Court.

A. All definitions set forth in administrative rule 15 of the Indiana Supreme Court are adopted to the purposes of this rule;

B. The official court reporter appointed by the Fountain Circuit Court from time to time shall be paid an annual salary as set each year in the budget of the court and approved by the Fountain County Council, and said salary shall be paid for time spent working under the control, direction and direct supervision of the court during any regular work hours, gap hours or overtime hours;

C. The per page fee for Fountain County and State indigent, and Private transcript preparation is designated as $3.50 per page, plus an additional labor charge for the hourly rate based upon the court reporter’s annual court compensation for time spent binding the transcript and the exhibit binders may be charged. The court reporter shall submit a claim directly to the County for the preparation of the county and state indigent transcript. A minimum fee of $35.00 per transcript may be charged. The private party in a civil case requesting the transcript must pay 100% of the projected cost in advance of the court reporter starting the transcript and must pay balance of actual cost, if any, prior to taking possession of said transcript;

D. The court reporter shall be required to report, at least on an annual basis to the Division of State Court Administration on forms designated by the division, all transcript fees of all types received by the court reporter;

E. The court reporter shall not engage in the private practice through recording of a deposition and/or preparing of the deposition transcript by the use of the court’s equipment, work space or supplies;

F. If the court reporter elects to engage in private practice through recording of depositions and/or preparing of deposition transcripts, the court reporter shall do so using the reporter’s own equipment, supplies and work space, and any and all of such private practice shall be conducted outside regular working hours of the court, and on the time of the reporter;

G. In the event the court reporter prepares County indigent or State indigent transcripts or private transcripts, and the same involves gap and /or overtime hours, the Court and the reporter shall enter into written agreement outlining the manner in which the reporter is to be compensated for such gap and overtime hours, and such compensation shall be in the form of compensatory time off regular work hours.

This local rule is to be submitted to the Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration for approval, and upon approval, shall become a rule of the court.

Dated this 20^th day of October 2003.

___________________________

Judge, Fountain Circuit Court