What Happens If Court Reporter Fails to Take Notes ?

In Williams v. State, 937 S.W.2d 479, 486 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996), the court reporter failed to take notes and transcribe the audio portion of a video tape the defendant played to the jury. The defendant did not object, but on appeal claimed an incomplete record under Rule 50(e), the forerunner to Rule 34.6(f) of the current rules. There, the Williams court stated: The rule, by its plain wording, clearly applies only in situations in which a portion of the proceeding was recorded, but later lost or destroyed. When the complaining party cannot show that the court reporter ever recorded the missing proceedings, he is not entitled to a new trial under Rule 50(e). Id. at 486. Rule 34.6(f) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure provides: (f) Reporter's Record Lost or Destroyed. An appellant is entitled to a new trial under the following circumstances: (1) if the appellant has timely requested a reporter's record; (2) if, without the appellant's fault, a significant exhibit or a significant portion of the court reporter's notes and records has been lost or destroyed or--if the proceedings were electronically recorded--a significant portion of the recording has been lost or destroyed or is inaudible; (3) if the lost, destroyed, or inaudible portion of the reporter's record, or the lost or destroyed exhibit, is necessary to the appeal's resolution; and (4) if the parties cannot agree on a complete reporter's record.