Could a Louisiana court reporter charge more than the statutory $1.50 per-page transcription fee without a new law?

Plain-English summary

A Plaquemines Parish district attorney asked whether a court reporter could charge more than $1.50 for a 31-line transcript page without a special law for the Twenty-Fifth Judicial District. In Opinion 03-0353, the AG answered no. Its conclusion was that no amount above the statutory fee could be charged absent another legislative provision allowing it.

The request also asked about compensation for testimony that was never transcribed. The opinion quoted fee provisions for transcribed pages but did not give that second question a separate, explicit answer.

Currency note

This opinion is dated October 2, 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Court reporters and administrators

The AG cited LSA-R.S. 13:961F(1)(a)'s fee of no more than $1.50 per 31-line page reported and transcribed, plus a copy fee. It also quoted LSA-R.S. 13:972D's $1.50 fee for each original 32-line page transcribed. The opinion found no other law allowing an additional transcription fee for this request.

District attorney

The opinion relied on an older Louisiana appellate decision for the principle that a reporter could not demand additional compensation beyond a statute's fixed amount. Its answer addressed the excess-fee issue; the untranscribed-testimony question remained unaddressed expressly.

Common questions

Could a reporter raise the per-page charge because the statutory amount seemed inadequate?

No. The AG said the statutory amount controlled without another law allowing more.

Did the opinion approve a separate fee for testimony that was never transcribed?

It did not expressly decide that part of the request. Its quoted fee provisions concerned pages that were transcribed.

Were the two quoted statutes identical about page length?

No. The opinion quoted a 31-line page in LSA-R.S. 13:961F(1)(a) and a 32-line page in LSA-R.S. 13:972D.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted LSA-R.S. 13:961F(1)(a) and LSA-R.S. 13:972D, then discussed an older appellate decision on fixed compensation for official court stenographers. It concluded that the statutory amount could not be exceeded on the information provided.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 13:961F(1)(a): fee for reported and transcribed pages.
• LSA-R.S. 13:972D: fee for original pages transcribed.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0353

Original opinion text

P.O BOX 94095
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
BATON ROUGE, LA 70804-9095
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
CRIMINAL DIV!S!ON
Telephone:
ATTORNEY GENERAL
(225) 342-7552
FAX:
(225) 342-7893

OCT 2 2003
OPINION 03-0353

Darryl W. Bubrig, Sr.
District Attorney 15 COURTS
25th Judicial District
LSA-R.S. 13:961F(1)(a)
Parish of Plaquemines
A sum cannot be charged in excess of what .s
104 Ave. G
statutorily provided for in LSA-R.S. 13:961F(1)(a).

Belle Chase, Louisiana 70037

Dear Mr. Bubrig, Sr.:

This officce is in receipt of your opinion request of recent date wherein you asked can a sum in excess of $1.50 per 31 line page be charged without a special statute being enacted for the 25th Judicial District and in the event of non- transcription, can any compensation be paid for the untranscribed testimony?

LSA-R.S. 13:961F(! )(a): provides in relevant part:
In all civil and criminal cases a fee not to exceed one dollar and fifty cents per thirty-one-line page and twenty-five cents per copy reported and transcribed shall be charged by and be paid to the court reporter who reported and transcribed the "te~,,.,~uny.
^’~-- , These fees shall be retained by him as compensation, in addition to the salary as provided in Subsection E, and shall be taxed as costs of the case in which such testimony is taken.

LSA-R.S. 13:972D: provides in relevant part:
In all cases the reporter shall be paid a fee of one dollar and fifty cents for each original thirty-two line page transcribed.

The only Louisiana case which addresses this issue on point is a 1925 case, State ex reL Rousseau v. Baudoin, 1925, 2 La.App. 411. The Court of Appeals for Orleans Parish held that because Acts !900, No. 64 fixed compensation of official stenographers of courts of this State outside of the Parish of Orleans, an additional compensation could not be demanded by stenographers of the several courts, however inadequate such compensation so fixed might be.

Page 2

Darryl W. Bubrig, Sr.
OPINION 03 -0353
Page 2

Since there is no contrary law to this holding and in light of no other legislative statute which allows for an additional fee for transcription, it is of the opinion of the Attorney General that a sum cannot be charged in excess of what is statutori!y provided.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

/7 /11
BY:

ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

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