Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 110.02
Subdivision 1. Duty to Order Transcript. Within 14 days after filing the notice of appeal, the appellant shall:
If the entire transcript is not to be included, the appellant, within the 14 days, shall file and serve on the respondent a description of the parts of the transcript which appellant intends to include in the record and a statement of the issues intended to be presented on appeal. If the respondent deems a transcript of other parts of the proceedings to be necessary, respondent shall order, within 14 days of service of the description or notification of no transcript, those other parts from the reporter, pursuant to subdivision 2 of this rule, or serve and file a motion in the trial court for an order requiring the appellant to do so. A copy of any order of the trial court affecting the transcript shall be filed by the appellant with the clerk of the appellate courts.
If a transcript of an audio or video exhibit is made part of the district court record, it becomes part of the record on appeal. If no such transcript exists, a transcript of the exhibit need not be prepared unless expressly requested by the appellant or respondent. If a transcript of an audio or video exhibit is requested, the court reporter may prepare the transcript. In the alternative, on the written request of the court reporter, the party who offered the exhibit must provide a transcript to the court reporter within 30 days of the date of the request.
Subd. 2. Transcript Certificates.
Subd. 3. Overdue Transcripts. If any party deems the period of time set by the reporter to be excessive or insufficient, or if the reporter needs an extension of time for completion of the transcript, the party or reporter may request a different period of time within which the transcript must be delivered by written motion to the appellate court pursuant to Rule 127, showing good cause therefor. A justice, judge or a person designated by the appellate court shall act as a referee in hearing the motion and shall file with the appellate court appropriate findings and recommendations for a dispositional order. A failure to comply with the order of the appellate court fixing a time within which the transcript must be delivered may be punished as a contempt of court. The appellate court may declare a reporter ineligible to act as an official court reporter in any court proceeding and prohibit the reporter from performing any private reporting work until the overdue transcript is filed.
Subd. 4. Transcript Requirements. The transcript shall be formatted for 81/2 by 11 inch or 81/2 by 101/2 inch paper with double spacing between each line of text and shall contain a table of contents. To the extent possible, the transcript of a trial or other single court proceeding shall be consecutively paginated, regardless of the number of volumes. The name of each witness shall appear at the top of each page containing that person's testimony. A question and its answer may be contained in a single paragraph. Compressed formats allowing more than one page of transcription to appear on a single page are not permitted for filed transcripts or for service on any party unless the party has consented to a compressed format.
In all appeals from the trial court, the court reporter shall file the transcript with the trial court administrator in electronic format acceptable to the trial court administrator. The court reporter shall promptly transmit an electronic copy of the transcript to the attorney for each party to the appeal separately represented and to any self-represented party by use of (a) the trial court's electronic filing and service system, if the recipient is a registered service recipient on the case being appealed, or (b) email, if the recipient is not a registered service recipient on the case being appealed. For a self-represented party who orders a transcript and requests a paper copy under subdivision 2(a) of this rule because the party does not have an email address to which the transcript can be delivered or does not have access to email, the court reporter shall provide notice by U.S. Mail to the self-represented party that the transcript has been filed with the trial court administrator and a paper copy of that transcript is available at the court administrator's office.
All copies must be legible. Other than with respect to transcripts for audio or video exhibits, the reporter shall certify the correctness of the transcript. The court reporter need not certify the correctness of a transcript of an audio or video exhibit.
The court reporter may correct any transcript prepared by a party for an audio or video exhibit, and must include the transcript of that exhibit with all other transcripts filed and provided for the appeal.
Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 110.02
The transcript must be ordered within 10 days after the notice of appeal is filed.
Since a prehearing conference will be held only if the court so directs, within 10 days after filing the notice of appeal the appellant must order the transcript or file a notice of intent to proceed on a statement of the proceedings pursuant to Rule 110.03 or Rule 110.04 or notify the respondent that no transcript or statement will be ordered or prepared.
Rule 110.02, subdivision 2, introduces the certificate as to transcript, which includes a statement that financial arrangements satisfactory to the reporter and counsel have been made (see appendix for form). Rule 110.02, subdivision 3, provides sanctions in addition to contempt in the event of the reporter's failure to make timely delivery of the transcript. The certificate must be filed with the clerk of the appellate courts within 10 days after the date the transcript was ordered.
The typewritten transcript requirement of Rule 110.02, subdivision 4, is intended to authorize the use of legible computerized or mechanically produced transcripts.
See Appendix for form of certificate as to transcript (Form 110).
Advisory Committee Comment - 1998 Amendments
Subdivision 2 is divided into two sections to emphasize that the court reporter has to file both a transcript certificate and a certificate of filing and delivery, each with different requirements. Court reporters sometimes do not include their telephone number on the certificates, which makes it difficult for the clerk's office to contact them if there is a problem with the certificate. The proposed amendment includes the reporter's telephone number as one of the pieces of information that must be included on the certificate.
Currently, the delivery certificates filed by most reporters only specify the date that the transcript was filed with the trial court administrator, together with a general statement that the transcript was "transmitted promptly" to counsel. The clerk's office uses the filing date as the delivery date for the purpose of calculating the briefing period, which may not be accurate if the reporter does not deliver the transcript on the same day filed. In addition, the certificates usually do not indicate the method of delivery. This makes a difference for calculation of the briefing period, because if the transcript is delivered by mail, three days are added to the briefing period. See MINN. R. CIV. APP. P. 125.03. The amended rule introduces the certificate of filing and delivery, which must specify the dates the transcript was filed with the court administrator and delivered to counsel. This certificate may show delivery by hand, by courier, or may show mailing. The court reporter and counsel should insure that the certificate accurately reflects the date and method of delivery of the transcript, because those factors determine the due date of appellant's brief. See MINN. R. CIV. APP. P. 125.03, 131.01.
Subdivision 4 includes a new requirement that the transcript be paginated consecutively, to the extent possible. This requirement is intended to reduce the number of transcripts requiring complicated citation forms. The goal is to have consecutive pagination of the entire trial, and any pretrial proceedings that immediately precede the trial as well as any other portions of the transcript that are ordered at the same time. If multiple court reporters were involved in transcribing the proceedings, various segments of the transcript can be assigned blocks of numbers so that pagination will be consecutive, albeit with potential for "missing" numbers. In that event, the transcript should clearly show that the missing numbers are intentionally omitted and identify the correct following transcript page number. There may be situations where it is impossible to paginate the transcript in this manner, and the rule recognizes such occasions may exist. The Committee believes that consecutive pagination should become the norm for transcripts, however, and this rule should make consecutive pagination the standard practice of court reporters.
The rule also includes the requirement that any testimony given by audio, video or other electronic means must be transcribed unless the court reporter provides an existing transcript of the videotape testimony, verifying its accuracy. The requirement for transcription applies only to testimony offered as such at trial, and not to non-testimonial evidence such as ordinary audio or video recordings, witness statements used for impeachment, or other recordings received as exhibits. If an existing transcript exists, it must be submitted with the electronic testimony and it is made part of the record on appeal. The reporter at trial certifies that what is included in the transcript is what transpired at the trial, but does not need to certify the accuracy or quality of the previously-prepared transcription. This rule change does not affect the procedure for criminal appeals, as they are governed by MINN. R. CRIM. P. 28.02, subd. 9.
See Appendix for form of certificate as to transcript and certificate of filing and delivery (Forms 110A and 110B).
Advisory Committee Comment - 2000 Amendments
Rule 110.02, subd. 4 is amended to allow parties to file transcripts in electronic form. With increasing frequency, transcripts of trials and other proceedings are available to counsel and the courts in electronic format, in addition to the traditional typed or printed format. Electronic format offers some significant advantages in the areas of handling, storage, and use. There is no currently accepted standard for preparation of electronic transcripts, which are available in a variety of formats and software contexts. This amendment allows parties the opportunity to file an electronic version of transcripts in addition to the paper transcripts required under the rules; it does not permit this format to replace the traditional paper transcript. As technology advances, additional forms of media may become acceptable.
Advisory Committee Comment--2008 Amendments
Rule 110.02, subd. 4, is amended to delete provision for filing a transcript in electronic form on 31/2" diskettes. That format is obsolescent, and CD-ROM is the format best suited to this use and most convenient for the courts and the parties.
Advisory Committee Comment-2014 Amendments
The amendments in rule 110.02 serve a single purpose: to replace the presumed production of a paper transcript with an electronic transcript that becomes part of the record on appeal. The rule retains the provision for filing the transcript with the trial court, where it will become part of the record prepared for the appellate court. For districts and counties where electronic filing is in place, transcripts should be filed using the electronic filing system. In counties where electronic filing is not in use, the appellate court may require that the electronic transcript be filed on CD-ROM or other electronically accessible medium.
The rule presumes that all parties in civil appeals from the trial court will receive transcripts in electronic format, but permits them to request them in paper format by making a written request not later than the 10 days after service of the transcript certificate. A party is entitled to a transcript in only one format at the expense of the party ordering the transcript, so a party electing to receive a paper transcript will not receive an electronic transcript. If a party makes a timely request in writing for a paper transcript in lieu of the electronic transcript after the transcript certificate required by Rule 110.02, subdivision 2(a) has been filed, the appellant must prepare an amended transcript certificate confirming that adequate financial arrangements have been made for any paper copies that are timely requested and not originally provided for. Because this necessarily occurs early in the transcript-preparation period, the rule provides that changing the format does not affect the projected delivery date for the transcript. If unusual circumstances warrant, the appellant may move for an extension of the transcript due date. For civil appeals not from the trial court, including agency or other administrative body appeals, it is not necessary that an electronic transcript be prepared. The rule permits an electronic transcript for those agencies or bodies that are able to prepare a transcript in electronic form.
The committee does not contemplate that this rule would be made effective for criminal appeals for purposes of the presumptive delivery to the parties of an electronic transcript, at least not upon adoption in 2014. Paper transcripts are needed in criminal cases, and many clients lack access to devices that would permit them to read electronic transcripts.
Advisory Committee Comment-2024 Amendment
Rule 110.02, subdivision 2, is amended in 2024 to clarify that self-represented parties are responsible for preparing and signing the transcript certificate.
Rule 110.02, subdivision 4, is amended in 2024 to clarify how copies of transcripts are provided to parties.