Court Opinion

ID: 9665478
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 00:49:21.781473+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:15.937181
License: Public Domain

BOOKOUT, Judge
(concurring specially)-
In addition to the reasons set out by Judges Cates and Tyson, I concur on the ground that denial of the use of a court reporter, hired by the appellant, denies to appellant and his counsel the use of legal tools deemed necessary to effectively try his case and, if necessary, to perfect an appeal.
While Title 13, Section 262 of the Code does not require the official court reporter to transcribe closing argument, the statute does not prohibit such. Neither is there a statutory prohibition against counsel hiring another court reporter to take stenographic notes of any portion of a trial for the benefit and use of either counsel in the trial of the case.
The procedure in Alabama for objecting to and accurately setting out in the record improper argument and rulings thereon is cumbersome and archaic to say the least. This is a procedure adopted by statute, understood and used in our courts, and this opinion does not change that awkward procedure.
However, our opinion will not allow Section 262, supra, to be applied in such a manner as to prohibit counsel the use of a court reporter to aid him in being able to read accurately into the official record the portions of the opposing argument he deems improper. This would give appellate courts a more accurate record to consider than we usually review where error is claimed on rulings relating to improper oral argument.
By denying an attorney the right to hire an independent court reporter to assist him in the trial, the trial court prevents him from representing his client as effectively as he could with such assistance. This in turn denies the appellant the right to effective counsel. It would have, what federal courts oft refer to, a “chilling effect” upon his right to appeal.
While the independent court reporter’s transcript would not be a part of the record on appeal, defense counsel could use it effectively in setting out his objections during trial, and in drafting a motion for a new trial, and could indeed attach a copy as an exhibit to such a motion.
Our opinion should not be taken as holding that a trial court does not have a right to exclude persons from the court room *605who would be disruptive to the proceedings.
All the Judges concur.