For what it's worth, most of my legal knowledge comes from the how to fight your ticket and win book.
EWYLTJ: Including the tidbit about the judge's comments in the proposed statement is the easy part. The hard part is making sure it's still there in the settled statement. The main problem is that some judges' idea of 'settling the proposed statement' is to whitewash any evidence that supports the stated grounds for appeal. If there is no recording or an official report, it's a he-said/she-said against the judge, which the appelant loses unless there's some evidence. I've read that an appelant can use personal notes in order to help the judge refresh his memory - even if the recording couldn't be entered as an official record of the proceedings. The book does spend some time on ways to deal with recalcitrant judges who want to fudge the settled statement, but none of them are easy, fast, or pretty.
blewis: Thanks for the tip, I'll have my GF call the court and ask that question.

