Court Reporter

General:

Sanford Federal is currently needing a vendor to provide the labor, supervision, and transportation necessary to provide the court reporting services as described herein.

Period Of Performance: 1 year.

Remote Depositions:

· Please indicate the platform(s) available for remote depositions.

o In the platform(s) provided, the Offeror shall describe at minimum:

o Controls made available to Government staff (i.e., can the AUSA control the exhibits including zoom and highlighting).,

o Screen view(s) is(are) available (i.e., single, split, multiple, etc.) for simultaneously viewing a witness, exhibit, etc.

o Breakout rooms (or other sidebar functionality) availability, including how the Offeror will facilitate.

o Software capabilities for chat functions and to what extent the chats can be sectioned by participant/groups, including the ability for one participant to chat privately with another participant while the deposition occurs or to transfer files.

o Exhibit presentation format for witnesses during depositions (i.e., displayed via share screen or another method(s)).

· Method/functionality for exhibit tabbing, highlighting or other markings to draw the witness' attention to specific pages/portions during deposition (i.e., using annotation functions on the tool, use of separate tool, formatting exhibits in advance of presentation). If exhibits can be annotated, how will copies of those annotations be saved?

Requirements:

· Minimum number of required Court Reporters: two (2) / Maximum of four (4) the District will clear through security

· The Offeror will be evaluated based on their past performance experience. The Offeror shall submit up to two (2) past performance references of similar work and scope completed within three (3) years of this Solicitation closing.

1. Under normal circumstances, Grand Jury at Portland, ME location occurs four times a month, on the second and fourth Wednesday and Thursday of each month. Each session generally lasts about 8 hours.

2. Under normal circumstances, Grand Jury at Bangor, ME location occurs two times a month, on the third Wednesday and Thursday of each month. Each session generally lasts about 8 hours.

3. There is no regular schedule for depositions; however, each session generally lasts about 4 hours.

4. Historically, the average number of grand jury panels for a year is 72 – 48 for Portland, ME and 24 for Bangor, ME.

5. Historically, the average number of simultaneous proceedings in anyone-day for the District has been zero (0).

6. There is no regular schedule for depositions; nonetheless, each session generally lasts about 4 hours. The average number of depositions per year has been 8.

Under normal circumstances, travel reimbursement will not be paid. The Vendor will be expected to incorporate their anticipated cost of travel into their price list. Travel shall be paid if normal site location has to be moved to alternate locations outside of a 50-mile radius of original location. The Vendor shall follow all Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). Please also refer to "Deposition Travel & Per Diem Reimbursement Restrictions" sections.

Scheduling of Depositions:

The USAO will notify the Vendor of the requirements for attendance at a deposition no later than two business days before the scheduled session. Each request will set forth the date, place, and time of the session. The Vendor shall reply stating they have received the work order by returning the signed work order form or other form of written acceptance as may be agreed upon by the USAO and communicate the name of the reporter who will be in attendance. Any change will be communicated by the Vendor to the USAO prior to the session.

In the event a deposition is continued for more than one day, the Vendor will make reasonable efforts to assign the same Court Reporter for each continued segment of that given deposition. Should the Vendor not be able to provide the same Court Reporter, it will notify the USAO before the scheduled session that another Court Reporter will be providing the court reporting services.

B. Original Transcripts. Unless otherwise stated, depositions shall be typed in an original, and delivered in .pdf or. ptx format, within one of the turnaround times set forth below. Transcripts may be ordered by the USAO within the following timeframes. Billing rates for these turnaround times are set forth- Price List of this Contract.

· 10 Business Day Transcripts: Transcripts will be completed and delivered on or before the 10th business day after the Vendor receives a request from the USAO. Transcripts shall be delivered to the USAO of each witness’s testimony, only when requested by the USAO. Colloquy will not be transcribed unless requested by the USAO.

· 5 Business Day Transcripts: Transcripts shall be completed and delivered on or before the 5th business day after the Vendor receives a request from the USAO. This request will sometimes be made the same day as the proceedings.

· 3 Business Day Transcripts: Transcripts shall be completed and delivered on or before the 3rd

business day after the Vendor receives a request from the USAO. This request will sometimes be made the same day as the proceedings.

· 2 Business Day Transcripts: Transcripts shall be completed and delivered on or before the 2nd

business day after the Vendor receives a request from the USAO. This request will sometimes be made the same day as the proceedings.

· Next-Business Day Transcripts: Transcripts shall be delivered before 9:30am of the following

business day after conclusion of each day's proceedings. This may require performance after normal business hours. The Vendor may not be notified in advance of the testimony of this requirement.

· Same-Business Day Transcripts: Transcripts shall be delivered by 9:00pm on the same day as the proceedings. The Vendor may not be notified in advance of the testimony of this requirement.

· Condensed Transcripts: All condensed transcripts shall include four original transcript pages

in reduced format on a single 8 ½ x 11inch page and shall be delivered in .pdf or. ptx format. All condensed transcripts shall be completed and delivered to the USAO, as ordered, within the same turnaround times as set forth for delivery of an original transcript.

· Key Word Indexing: The keyword index gives an alphabetical listing of each word within the transcript and provides a page and line reference and shall be delivered in .pdf or. ptx format.

· Additional Copies of Transcripts: Even though the Government has the right to copy and

distribute transcripts acquired under this contract, the Government may order additional copies of any transcript. Additional copies of transcripts shall be provided to the USAO, as ordered, within the same turnaround times as set forth above.

Other Requirements:

· A transcript of all witness testimony shall be produced only when the USAO makes a specific request that a transcript be produced. Colloquy outside the presence of the witness will not be transcribed unless requested by the USAO.

· Each witness' testimony shall be in a separate transcript.

· Videographer Attendance Fee. The Vendor is entitled to a Videographer Attendance Fee as set forth in the Price List of this Contract. This fee is payable for each hour the Vendor's videographer records a scheduled proceeding. The minimum charge for any single day is three (3) hours. The videographer is not paid during a lunch break. This hourly fee shall account for the price of the videotape/recording itself.

· Attendance Fee. The Vendor is entitled to an Attendance Fee in the amount set forth in the Price List of this Contract. The minimum charge for any single day is three (3) hours. Attendance fees will be paid for each hour the Vendor's reporter appears for a scheduled proceeding. Proceedings are presently scheduled between 9:00am to12:00pm and 1:00pm to 5:00pm with a 30-minute to one (1) hour lunch break in between. The Vendor is not paid during this lunch break. These hours are subject to change. A shorter day may be scheduled.

· The Government guarantees payment of a minimum of three (3) hours. In the event that there are time periods during the day during which no testimony is taken, and the reporter is required to remain available for testimony later in the day, the Vendor will be paid the hourly Deposition Attendance Fee during those time periods. In the event that a reporter's presence is required for a whole day and no testimony is recorded, the Vendor will be paid either one (1) cancellation fee or be paid the number of hours the reporter was available (charged at the Deposition Attendance Fee hourly rate), whichever is higher. The Vendor shall allow the Government ten (10) working days to request proceedings transcript before assessing an attendance fee.

Delivery: Deposition transcripts shall be delivered as instructed by the individual Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Certification: Each reporter shall attach his/her official certification to the original transcript so recorded as follows:

CERTIFICATE

STATE OF MAINE COUNTY OF XXX

(I/We) the undersigned, a duly qualified and commissioned notary public within and for the State of Maine, do certify that before the giving of (her/his) deposition, (Name) was by me first duly sworn to depose the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; that the foregoing is the deposition given at said time and place by (Name); that I am neither a relative of nor employee of any of the parties or their counsel, and have no interest whatever in the result of the action.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand and official seal of office at Portland, Maine, this (Date).

Court Reporter Name Title and Certifications

Notary Public - State of Maine My commission expires (Date)

There shall be no charge for either this certification page or any index page if used.

Remote Depositions

An ever-increasing number of depositions are conducted remotely. The District of Maine reserves the right to require performance of remote depositions under the included itemized lines in the Schedule when these services are required. The Vendor shall be ready and equipped to fully support all facets of remote depositions the same as if the depositions was to occur in person.

Stipulations for remote depositions. [Fed. R. Civ. P.] Rule 30(b)(4) allows parties to stipulate that a deposition be taken by “telephone or other remote means.” If everyone is not in the same room, put an appropriate stipulation on the record at the beginning of the deposition, indicating that the deposition is being taken remotely and indicating where each participant is located. The deposition is considered to be taking place where the deponent is located, and if the deponent is not in the same room as the Court Reporter, there is an issue

about the Court Reporter’s administration of the oath to the witness. A sample stipulation may include the following language:

¾ We understand that notary laws may not permit the Court Reporter to administer an oath to the witness if they are not in the same location. [As such, counsel agree that the reporter will not administer the oath. Instead] or [In addition to the oath given by the Court Reporter], the witness will verbally acknowledge the following: “Do you solemnly swear or affirm under penalties of perjury that the testimony you will give in this matter will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?” The parties agree that nothing about this process will impair in any way the use of this deposition as otherwise permitted by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Prior to administering of the oath, the Court Reporter is required to positively verify the identity of the witness. The witness should be required to have positive identification (s)he can produce or have opposing counsel verify and stipulate to the identity of the witness.

Remote depositions can be conducted in two ways—Coordinated with other U.S. Attorney’s offices where the person is being deposed, using DOJ’s VTC systems, or Platform(s) offered by the Vendor (if approved by the Government).

Remote depositions use a variety of tools, including but not limited to video conference calls, audio conferences, and software-based communication tools. Different court reporting agencies provide different options for remote depositions.

Nothing in this Solicitation endorses one remote deposition method, product, or tool over another. EOUSA and the USAO will check with the Systems Manager and/or Office of the Chief Information Officer to ensure that the court reporting firm's remote deposition software will not be blocked by the USAO security firewall. Furthermore, the USAO-

OHS cannot download a court reporting firm's remote deposition application or software, but instead must participate via a web-based link.

When the Vendor hosts the remote depositions—

1. Shall provide a secure upload site to receive exhibits before the deposition and load them to the presentation application before the deposition. The process for exhibit numbering, delivering, and presenting exhibits to the witness and counsel should be discussed with the Court Reporter well in advance of the deposition, and it may depend upon the application(s)/tool(s) used for remote deposition.

The Court Reporter should also take custody of the introduced exhibits for the final transcript.

2. Shall conduct a test session with all the parties a few days before the deposition. This helps ensure that all parties have the appropriate bandwidth, cameras, microphones, and lighting, as well as the opportunity to ask technical questions before the deposition.

3. The Court Reporter should be the meeting host and send links to all parties. The Court Reporter will also swear in the witness and control the proceeding.

4. Separate from the role of the Court Reporter, a videographer is required to manage the live video streaming and record the video.

The videographer can also ensure that the deponent remains in full screen during the deposition, pause the recording for off-the record discussions, and may add timestamps and/or transcript syncing to the final product.

5. Provide technical support to assist with issues during the deposition.

6. Upon request, provide synchronized video with the transcript.

Remote Notarization. Each state’s notarization laws are different and may only apply to specific proceedings. The Vendor must check with the State Notary, Secretary of State, or other regulatory agency for the state’s specific remote notarization or oath administration laws. Court Reporters shall have State or National Certification as required to swear in witnesses for sworn testimony.

Transcript Format

A separate transcript shall be provided for each witness/deponent and delivered in .pdf or. ptx format. The title page shall show the name of the witness/deponent, Grand Jury date, time of

the commencement of the proceeding for that particular witness, docket number, the date of proceedings, the name, title and address of the attorney appearing for the Government, caption of matter, the authority for taking the deposition, etc. and shall be followed by a page of distinctive color indexing the exhibits where applicable.

The paging of the transcripts shall be in a single series by consecutive numbers regardless of the number of days consumed in the hearings, proceeding, etc., and the paging of the transcript in a hearing shall follow consecutively the paging of the last previous hearing in the same case.

Exhibits admitted in evidence, identified in a deposition, or in Grand Jury proceedings, when requested by the Government attorney shall be stamped, marked, numbered by the Vendor, and arranged in numerical order, as directed by the individual Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and shall be annexed to the deposition transcript. The marking shall indicate clearly whether the exhibit is offered by the complainant, protestant, intervener, defendant, respondent, applicant, the ordering office, or other party of record.

The numbering of exhibits shall be in a single series of consecutive numbers, regardless of the number of days consumed in the hearing, unless otherwise directed by the Presiding Official. The number of exhibits introduced at a hearing or in a reopened case shall follow consecutively the number on the last previous exhibit introduced by such party. Exhibits shall not be copied into the record nor shall photo static copies of exhibits for inclusion in the record be made by the reporter unless the Presiding Official so directs.

Recording Requisites

Recording hereunder shall be taken by reporters qualified in the operation of Steno-type equipment, Real Time recording, Computer Aided Transcription (CAT), Shorthand and/or monitored Multi-Microphone recording systems, and when permitted by the Presiding Official, by Steno mask. At the request of the USAO, recording shall also be taken by videotape. Regardless of the type of equipment used, it is mandatory that there be an accurate read back capability and that a back-up system be utilized. It is also mandatory that tape recording devices shall have a separate monitor head which shall allow the reporter to monitor the recorded tape.

A. Monitored Multi-Microphone Recording Systems. The mandatory requirements follow:

i. The Vendor's personnel shall operate and monitor the recording equipment at all times.

ii. The operating personnel shall provide to the USAO, prior to the commencement of each proceeding, a certification that the equipment is turned on and operating.

iii. The recording equipment utilized shall provide for the instant playback of testimony.

iv. The equipment shall be capable of recording as many as twenty-three grand jurors together in one room with the prosecutor and the witness.

v. The system utilized shall have a back-up system to allow continuous recording of speakers. The Grand Jury hearings shall not be stopped for any reason such as the changing of a tape.

vi. The tapes shall be of such quality that there shall be no instances of inaudibility because of accents or words used by the speakers.

vii. The system shall be portable to allow for transportation of tapes to another location when an immediate decision is required by a Federal District Court Judge.

viii. The recording monitor shall be able to identify speakers.

ix. A back-up system shall be available so as not to delay the proceedings.

x. The equipment utilized shall not pose any safety hazards due to exposed wires, cords, or for any other reason.

B. Steno mask Recording. The mandatory requirements in the event steno mask recording is permitted are as follows:

i. The respective systems shall be of such quality as to ensure against error, misinterpretation, or loss of voice.

ii. The equipment shall contain simultaneous playback, listening, and pre- amplification.

C. Real Time Recording. The steno machine is attached to the computer. As the steno types the strikes/words are translated into English onto the screen.

D. Computer Aided Transcription (CAT). With this type of system, the steno strikes a key which is written onto a disk. The disk is inserted into an attachment to the computer and the information is brought up on the computer screen. A back-up voice tape is made also so that a re-verification can be made of the transcript.

E. Video Recording. The USAO will determine video formatting: DVD, CD, Flash Drive or other media.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $20.00 - $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday

Work Location: Remote