5-3-305. Appointment and termination thereof to be reported to county clerk.
When any court or the judge thereof, shall appoint a court commissioner who shall be authorized to take acknowledgments and administer oaths under this act, or whenever any court or the judge thereof shall revoke the appointment of any such court commissioner, or when any such commissioner shall resign, or his appointment cease for any reason, it shall be the duty of the clerk of said court to immediately notify, in writing, the county clerk of each county embraced within the jurisdiction of said court, of the making of said appointment or the termination thereof, as the case may be.
District court commissioners before entering upon the discharge of their official duties, shall take and subscribe before the clerk of the district court, of the county for which they were respectively appointed, the oath of office provided by the constitution.
(a) Each district court commissioner shall have the powers in respect to every suit or proceeding pending in the district court of the county for which he was appointed, as follows:
(i) If no judge qualified to hear or act in the proceeding or action is present in the county for which such commissioner was appointed, to make any order which a judge of the district court is authorized by law to make in chambers and to hear and determine cases of mental illness or mental incompetency, and to hold juvenile detention or shelter care hearings;
(ii) To make any order which a judge of the district court is authorized by law to make in chambers, upon the written statement of such judge, filed with the papers, that he is disqualified in such case;
(iii) To administer oaths;
(iv) To hear, try and determine all issues whenever an application shall have been made for a change of judge;
(v) To take evidence and make findings, and report the same to the district court;
(vi) To take depositions;
(vii) To punish persons for contempts committed during hearings had before him;
(viii) To issue and enforce process for the attendance of witnesses and production of evidence in all lawful hearings before him, in the same manner and with like force as the court might do if in session.
The fees of the district court commissioners shall be fixed by the district courts in which their services are rendered and may be taxed as costs, paid from the budget of the district court or from other funds available for that purpose.
All orders made by, and proceedings had before district court commissioners, shall be entered at length in the journal of the district court of the county for which they were appointed, by the district clerk, and shall be signed by the commissioners.
5-3-310. District court to review orders; approval or disapproval.
The district court shall at each term review all orders made by, and proceedings had before commissioners of such court during vacation, and approve, disapprove, reverse or modify every such order or proceeding.
5-3-311. Office of commissioner and clerk declared incompatible.
The office of district court commissioner and clerk of the district court are hereby declared to be incompatible and no person shall occupy the office of district court commissioner who is at the same time a clerk of the district court, or is a county clerk in counties wherein such clerk is ex officio clerk of court.
5-3-312. Commissioner not to act as attorney; when attorney not to act as commissioner.
No district court commissioner shall accept employment or retainer as an attorney-at-law, or give any advice as such in any action, cause or proceeding pending before him as such commissioner; and he shall not be authorized to act as such commissioner, or exercise any of the powers thereof, in any action, case or proceeding in which or as to the subject thereof he shall have been engaged, employed or retained as an attorney, or in reference to which and the subject thereof he shall have given any advice.
The office of official court reporter for each judge of each judicial district in the state of Wyoming is hereby created and each judge of each judicial district in the state of Wyoming is hereby required and empowered to appoint one (1) court reporter for his district, whose term of office shall be during the pleasure of the judge making such appointment and until their successor is appointed and qualified.
Such reporter shall be in constant attendance upon the judge of said court at all times, and shall be the clerk and stenographer of the judge, and he shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duty, and take the oath of office required in the constitution of this state, and shall remain in attendance on the court, and take full stenographic notes in cases tried during said attendance, of all testimony or admissions made by either side, objections to the introduction of testimony, the ruling of the court thereon, the exceptions taken thereto, and such other proceedings as the court may direct, and shall preserve such stenographic notes and furnish a transcript thereof, or of any part of same, upon the request of any party having an interest therein, provided, however, that if no request for such transcript shall be made to the court reporter for a period of ten (10) years subsequent to the hearing of any cause wherein stenographic records have been taken, the said court reporter may destroy his original stenographic records, and, provided, further, however, that if a transcript shall be furnished any party as provided herein, then and in that event, the court reporter may destroy his original stenographic records within a period of ten (10) years from and after the furnishing of said transcript to the party or parties ordering same.
5-3-404. Criminal cases; reporting and transcript of proceedings.
The court reporter for criminal cases prosecuted in the district court shall report all testimony and all proceedings held in open court, except informal discussions, informal instruction conferences and pretrial conferences which shall be reported when requested by a party. The reporter shall, within a reasonable time, transcribe arraignment, plea, change of plea and sentencing hearings and file the transcript in the official court record.
In any case arising as a post conviction relief proceeding, W.S. 7-14-101 through 7-14-108, in which the presiding judge has determined that the post conviction petition is sufficient to require an answer, the court reporter shall transcribe the record of the criminal proceeding in which the petitioner was convicted in full unless the court shall, by written order, determine that portions of the record are not required or material for decision in the proceeding. Additionally, the court reporter shall record evidentiary proceedings conducted under this section and shall transcribe that record if an appeal is taken.
5-3-406. Criminal cases; original and copy of transcript to be furnished when required by order.
The official court reporter shall transcribe and furnish an original and copy of the proceedings at the trial of any person sentenced to any imprisonment where an order is or has been entered so requiring.
5-3-407. Criminal cases; payment of fees; form and contents of certificate.
The reporter shall be paid in full for all his services in connection with the transcribing and filing or furnishing the transcripts referred to in this act, the same fee for the transcribing, filing, and furnishing of transcripts as provided in W.S. 5-3-410. All such fees shall be paid out of the state treasury on the warrant of the state auditor from appropriations made for such purpose, upon presentation of a certificate signed by the presiding judge setting the amount due said reporter. Such certificate shall as to each original transcript, and copy where fee for copy is authorized, set forth the title and number of the cause in which the transcript was required to be furnished, the nature of the proceedings transcribed, whether an arraignment, proceedings at criminal trial or proceedings at post conviction hearing, and the fee approved therefor. The state auditor may prescribe the form of the certificate and furnish same.
Each official reporter, appointed as aforesaid, shall give a bond to the state of Wyoming, with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the judge of the district court of such district, and filed with the secretary of state, in the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), conditioned for the faithful and efficient performance of the duties of said office.
Each official reporter appointed under the provisions of this act, as court reporter, shall also be the stenographer of the judge of said court, and shall do and perform such stenographic labor for the judge of said court as of him or her may be required in his official capacity as judge.
5-3-410. Fees for civil cases; collection; to be paid into state treasury; liability of reporter for collection.
(a) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 18, § 1.
(b) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 18, § 1.
(c) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 18, § 1.
(d) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 18, § 1.
(e) Repealed by Laws 2023, ch. 148, § 2.
(f) Fees for transcripts, records and other papers required to be made and issued as the official reporter shall be set by rule of the district court judicial conference established in W.S. 5-3-102(b).
Each official district court reporter in this state shall be paid annual salaries as provided by law, payable in equal monthly installments upon warrant of the state auditor upon the state treasurer.
In case of sickness or if said official court reporter be unable to attend to his official duties from any cause at any time, the judge of the district court in each judicial district in this state, when the trial of cases required to be reported necessitates it, is authorized and empowered to obtain a suitable and competent person as substitute for such official court reporter, during such disability; such substitute to receive the fees herein provided for in full compensation for such services. And in all cases where any signature of the official court reporter is required, the same, during the absence or any such disability of the official court reporter shall be signed by the person substituted therefor as acting official court reporter, and in such cases the same shall have the same legal force and effect as if signed by the official court reporter.
(a) When used in this act, the following definitions will apply unless the context otherwise requires:
(i) Court.-The word "court" shall mean the district or juvenile courts;
(ii) Counselor.-An officer appointed by the county commissioners with the approval of the district judge in the district where he is to be employed under the provisions of this act to work with juvenile offenders, and parolees or probationers;
(iii) Probationer.-Any person placed on probation with the imposition and execution of sentence suspended after a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or after conviction of any offense in any district or juvenile court in Wyoming, or by any court of a foreign state having jurisdiction to place such offenders on probation, or any person who has been paroled before sentence by any district or juvenile court;
(iv) Tense, Gender.-The singular includes the plural, the plural the singular, and the masculine the feminine, when consistent with the intent of the act.
5-3-502. Employment authorized; employment of 1 counselor for 2 or more districts.
The county commissioners are hereby authorized to employ sufficient counselors in such judicial district upon the written request of the district judge or judges therein. In any district where in the discretion of the district judge or judges the case load does not justify the hiring of a counselor, a counselor may be employed to work in two (2) or more districts.
5-3-503. Appointment after approval by district judge; determination of maximum salary.
Counselors may be appointed by the county commissioners only after the applicant is interviewed and approved by the district judge or judges in the district in which he is to be employed. The maximum salary of counselors appointed under the provisions of this act, shall be determined by the county commissioners.
(a) Each counselor employed under the provisions of this act shall have the following duties:
(i) He shall make a complete social and background investigation of all persons referred to him by the court. This investigation shall include past violations, family background, present source of income and family status. It shall include a written recommendation as to disposition of the offender by the counselor, which shall be submitted to the court prior to sentencing:
(A) The investigation may be waived by the offender unless the court specifically requests it;
(B) Special attention shall be given to minor offenders in the effort to rehabilitate them toward responsible citizenship;
(ii) He may make social history investigations where requested by judges in cases where minors are involved. In such cases he may assume authority where the offender is placed on probation by the presiding officer;
(iii) He shall furnish to each person released on probation and placed under his supervision a written statement of conditions of the probation or parole and shall instruct each of his charges thereon. Each counselor shall keep informed concerning the conduct and conditions of each person in his charge by making regular personal visits, and in other ways he deems necessary or advisable;
(iv) A written report shall be submitted periodically on each person under the counselor's supervision to the department of corrections or, as appropriate, the department of family services and a copy shall be sent to the judge having jurisdiction of the case;
(v) He shall advise and counsel his charges and encourage steps in the direction of rehabilitation and good citizenship.
(b) All case records shall be confidential.