Section 501. Preservation of Testimony by Videotape Recording

(A) When the testimony of a witness is taken and preserved pursuant to Rule 500 by means of videotape recording, the testimony shall be recorded simultaneously by a stenographer.

(B) The following technical requirements shall be made part of the court order required by Rule 500(A) or the written agreement provided in Rule 500(B):

(1) The videotape recording shall begin with a statement on camera that includes:

(a) the operator’s name and business address;

(b) the name and address of the operator’s employer;

(c) the date, time, and place of the videotape recording;

(d) the caption of the case;

(e) the name of the witness;

(f) the party on whose behalf the witness is testifying; and

(g) the nature of the judicial proceedings for which the testimony is intended.

(2) The court and all parties shall identify themselves on camera.

(3) The witness shall be sworn on camera.

(4) If the length of the testimony requires the use of more than one videotape, the end of each videotape and the beginning of each succeeding videotape shall be announced on camera.

(5) At the conclusion of the witness’ testimony, a statement shall be made on camera that the testimony is concluded. A statement shall also be made concerning the custody of the videotape(s).

(6) Statements concerning stipulations, exhibits, or other pertinent matters may be made at any time on camera.

(7) The videotape recording shall be timed by a digital clock on camera that continually shows the hour, minute, and second of the testimony.

(8) All objections and the reasons for them shall be made on the record. When a judge presides over the videotaping of testimony, the judge’s rulings on objections shall also be made on the record.

(9) When a judge does not preside over the videotaping of testimony, the videotape operator shall keep a log of each objection, referenced to the time each objection is made. All rulings on objections shall be made before the videotape is shown at any judicial proceeding.

(10) The original videotape recording shall not be altered.

Comment

This rule provides the basic technical requirements for taking and preserving testimony by videotape recording under Rule 500. The list of requirements is not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, it is recommended that all recording by videotape be carefully planned and executed, and that in addition to complying with the basic requirement, each court order or written agreement for the videotape recording of testimony be tailored to the nature of the case and the needs of the parties.

Generally, the camera should focus on the witness to the extent practicable.

Under paragraph (B)(9), the court may rule on objections by either reviewing pertinent sections of the videotape recording, aided by the videotape operator’s log, or by reviewing the stenographic transcript required by paragraph (A).

Any editing procedure ordered by the court or agreed upon by the parties may be used as long as it comports with current technology and does not alter the original videotape recording. Paragraph (B)(10) is intended to insure preservation of the original videotape, thereby providing for those situations in which a dispute arises over editing procedures.

This rule authorizes the use of videotape recording devices only for the preservation of testimony under Rule 500. It is not intended to affect other rules governing recording devices. See, e.g., Rules 112 and 500.

Official Note

Rule 9015A adopted March 22, 1989, effective July 1, 1989; renumbered Rule 501 and amended March 1, 2000, effective April 1, 2001.

Committee Explanatory Reports:

Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000).