January 28, 1997




96-15



Amendment of MCR 8.108 
_______________________________________


     On order of the Court, notice of a proposed amendment having
been provided, and consideration having been given to the
comments received in response to that notice, the following
amendment to Rule 8.108 of the Michigan Court Rules is adopted,
effective immediately.

ICLE Editor's Note:

The present language is amended as indicated below:



Rule 8.108 Court Reporters and Recorders

(A) - (F)  [Unchanged.]

(G)  Certification.

     (1) - (2)  [Unchanged.]

     (3)  Certification by Testing.

          (a)  [Unchanged.]

          (b)  In order to be eligible for registration for an
               examination, an applicant must

               (i)  be at least 18 years of age,

              (ii)  [be a Michigan resident,]

             [(iii)]   be a high school graduate, and

             (iii)[(iv)]  not have been under
                                        sentence for a felony for
                                        a period of two years.

               In addition, an applicant for the certified
               shorthand reporter examination must have
               satisfactorily completed an approved, accredited,
               or recognized course of study in court reporting.

          (c)  [Unchanged.]

     (4) - (5)  [Unchanged.]

     (6)  Renewal, Review, and Revocation of Certification.

          (a)  [The c] Certifications under this
               rule must be renewed annually.  The fee for
               renewal is $30.  Renewal applications must be
               filed by August 1.  A renewal application filed
               after that date must be accompanied by an
               additional late fee of $30.  The board may
               require certified reporters and recorders to
               submit, as a condition of renewal, such
               information as the board reasonably deems
               necessary to determine that [a] the
               reporter or recorder has used his or her reporting
               or recording skills during the preceding year.

          (b) - (c)  [Unchanged.]

     (7)  [Unchanged.]


STAFF COMMENT:  The January 28, 1997, amendment of
MCR 8.108(G)(3) eliminates the requirement of Michigan residency
for eligibility to take the court reporter/recorder certification
tests.  This change is related to the amendment of
MCR 8.108(G)(1), effective January 1, 1998, to provide that only
certified reporters and recorders may record and prepare
transcripts of depositions taken in Michigan pursuant to the
Michigan Court Rules.  The amendment also establishes a penalty
for late filing of certification renewal applications.

The staff comment is published only for the benefit of the bench
and bar and is not an authoritative construction by the Court.