La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § XXI-1109

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XXI-1109 - Digital Signature Certification Procedures

A. Effective January 1, 2020, the reporter by whom a deposition is taken may seal the deposition at the request of all parties by using secure electronic means to affix a digital signature certification statement in accordance with procedures approved by the board. A reporter must not seal the deposition electronically without first reviewing and approving the accuracy of the transcript to which the digital signature is affixed. The reporter must promptly and simultaneously distribute the sealed deposition to the party at whose request the deposition was taken and to all other parties to the action who have ordered a copy of the deposition transcript. The party at whose request the deposition was taken shall then become the custodian of the record.

B.Digital Signature Certification means the use by a reporter of technology approved by the board to seal a deposition by using a unique embedded code that identifies the particular reporter and that invalidates the reporters digital signature if either the text or the format of the deposition is altered after sealing.

C. Digital Signature Certification Statement. Effective January 1, 2020, each certified court reporter who seals a deposition electronically must attest to the accuracy of the transcript by dating, signing, and sealing a digital signature certification statement containing substantially the following language:

This certification is valid only for a transcript accompanied by my original signature and original required seal on this page.

I, [reporter's name], Certified Court Reporter in and for the State of Louisiana, as the officer before whom this testimony was taken, do hereby certify that [name of person(s) to whom oath was administered], after having been duly sworn by me upon authority of R.S. 37:2554, did testify as hereinbefore set forth in the foregoing [number of] pages; that this testimony was reported by me in the [stenotype; stenomask; penwriter; electronic] reporting method, was prepared and transcribed by me or under my personal direction and supervision, and is a true and correct transcript to the best of my ability and understanding; that the transcript has been prepared in compliance with transcript format guidelines required by statute or by rules of the board, and that I am informed about the complete arrangement, financial or otherwise, with the person or entity making arrangements for deposition services; that I have acted in compliance with the prohibition on contractual relationships, as defined by Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1434 and in rules and advisory opinions of the board; that I have no actual knowledge of any prohibited employment or contractual relationship, direct or indirect, between a court reporting firm and any party litigant in this matter nor is there any such relationship between myself and a party litigant in this matter. I am not related to counsel or to the parties herein, nor am I otherwise interested in the outcome of this matter.

D. A reporter must not give the reporters username or password to another or permit their use by a proxy to affix the digital signature certification statement to a deposition.

E. Any indication that the content or format of a transcript has been altered after affixing the reporters digital signature certification statement to the deposition shall invalidate the digital signature certification.

La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § XXI-1109

Promulgated by the Office of the Governor, Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters, LR 461564 (11/1/2020).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:2554 and 2558.