The testimony of each witness in cases of homicide shall be reduced to writing, as a deposition, by the magistrate, or under his or her direction, and in other cases upon the demand of the prosecuting attorney, or the defendant, or his or her counsel. The magistrate before whom the examination is had may, in his or her discretion, order the testimony and proceedings to be taken down in shorthand in all examinations herein mentioned, and for that purpose he or she may appoint a shorthand reporter. The deposition or testimony of the witness shall be authenticated in the following form:
(a) It shall state the name of the witness, his or her place of residence, and his or her business or profession; except that if the witness is a peace officer, it shall state his or her name, and the address given in his or her testimony at the hearing.
(b) It shall contain the questions put to the witness and his or her answers thereto, each answer being distinctly read to him or her as it is taken down, and being corrected or added to until it conforms to what he or she declares is the truth, except in cases where the testimony is taken down in shorthand, the answer or answers of the witness need not be read to him or her.
(c) If a question put be objected to on either side and overruled, or the witness declines answering it, that fact, with the ground on which the question was overruled or the answer declined, shall be stated.
(d) The deposition shall be signed by the witness, or if he or she refuses to sign it, his or her reason for refusing shall be stated in writing, as he or she gives it, except in cases where the deposition is taken down in shorthand, it need not be signed by the witness.
(e) The reporter shall, within 10 days after the close of the examination, if the defendant be held to answer the charge of a felony, or in any other case if either the defendant or the prosecution orders the transcript, transcribe his or her shorthand notes, making an original and one copy and as many additional copies thereof as there are defendants (other than fictitious defendants), regardless of the number of charges or fictitious defendants included in the same examination, and certify and deliver the original and all copies to the clerk of the superior court in the county in which the defendant was examined. The reporter shall, before receiving any compensation as a reporter, file his or her affidavit setting forth that the transcript has been delivered within the time herein provided for. The compensation of the reporter for any services rendered by him or her as the reporter in any court of this state shall be reduced one-half if the provisions of this section as to the time of filing said transcript have not been complied with by him or her.
(f) In every case in which a transcript is delivered as provided in this section, the clerk of the court shall file the original of the transcript with the papers in the case, and shall deliver a copy of the transcript to the district attorney immediately upon his or her receipt thereof and shall deliver a copy of said transcript to each defendant (other than a fictitious defendant) at least five days before trial or upon earlier demand by him or her without cost to him or her; provided, that if any defendant be held to answer to two or more charges upon the same examination and thereafter the district attorney shall file separate informations upon said several charges, the delivery to each such defendant of one copy of the transcript of the examination shall be a compliance with this section as to all of those informations.
(g) If the transcript is delivered by the reporter within the time hereinbefore provided for, the reporter shall be entitled to receive the compensation fixed and allowed by law to reporters in the superior courts of this state.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 784, Sec. 534. Effective January 1, 2003.)