Clerk of Court

The following has been taken from the Clerk Handbook.

Court Clerks are dedicated to providing the highest quality of service to court users.

The following are some examples of what a Clerk can and Cannot do in their capacity:

• They can give information, but they cannot give legal advice
• They can answer general questions about how the court works, but they cannot explain judicial decisions, let you speak to the judge outside of the courtroom or talk with the judge on what will happen on your case
• They can give you general information about court rules, terminology, procedures and practices. They cannot advise you as to how the court rules and procedures will be applied to your case.
• They can provide you with contact information for legal service programs, but they cannot refer you to specific lawyers, contact programs or lawyers for you, or give answers that involve legal advice.
• They can give you legal definitions, but they they cannot give you legal interpretations
• They can give procedural definitions, but cannot give procedural advice
• They can give you cites of statutes, court rules and ordinances, but they cannot complete research of statutes, court rules and ordinances
• They can give you public case information, but they cannot give you confidential case information
• They can give you forms and instructions on how to complete them, but they cannot fill out forms for a party, except for persons with disabilities
• They can review your form by checking for signatures, notarization, correct county name and case number, but they cannot correct forms for you or tell you what corrections should be made
• They can usually answer general questions about court deadlines, but cannot change an order issued by a judge.

Court Clerks do not know all the answers to all questions about court rules, procedures and practices. If the Clerk does not know the answer to a particular question , or is unable to provide an answer, you will be directed to talk with an attorney.