Rule 353

A court reporter cannot work in a courtroom if they are related to the judge by blood or marriage. This means if you are the judge's spouse, sibling, parent, child, or another close relative, you cannot serve as the official court reporter for that judge's cases.

The reason for this rule is to keep court proceedings fair and free from any appearance of favoritism. Even if a related court reporter would do their job honestly, having a family member in that role could make people question whether the case was handled fairly. This rule removes that concern by keeping judges and their court reporters unrelated.

If you are a court reporter and find yourself assigned to a judge who is your relative, this rule means that assignment cannot happen. The court will need to assign you to a different judge or bring in a different reporter for that courtroom.