The City of Austin Municipal Court is a court of record. An appeal of a decision by an Austin Municipal Court judge or jury on a criminal case must be based on an error made by the Court and preserved in the record of your case. The appellate court has held on many occasions that it cannot address questions relating to the factual or legal sufficiency of the evidence or on the admissibility of the evidence or other court rulings without a reporter’s record. If those are the types of errors you are raising on appeal, you must have a reporter’s record that shows what evidence was actually presented so the appellate court can provide you with a meaningful appeal.
A reporter’s record is the court reporter’s preservation of the proceedings at the trial. The Austin Municipal Court uses recording equipment to record trial proceedings. If you want to get the record transcribed, you must make arrangements through the Municipal Court Clerk’s office to obtain the recording disk to give to a certified court reporter to transcribe. You must make your own arrangements to secure the services of a certified court reporter and to pay for the preparation of the reporter’s record.
File your transcribed reporter's record with the Municipal Court no later than the 60th day after the notice of appeal is filed.