Areshia Streams
JUS - 261 - J1122
Southern New Hampshire University
September 25, 2021
4-2 Short Paper: Court Employee Role
The court employee role I chose to discuss is the clerk. In the court judicial system.
organization is the most important key to running a smooth courthouse. Without organization, the
court system would be complete and utter chaos. At the supreme court level, as well as in the
courts of appeal, the clerk is referred to as "clerks of court." In the supreme court, the clerk is
responsible for a wide range of duties such as supervision of the internal administrative function
of the court itself as well the planning and administrative direction of their respectable state
judicial conference, which is an organization that comprises of all of the states judges. The day to
day administrative duties for the clerks of court includes handling all inquiries and procedural
requests from the attorney's throughout the state, arranging the docketing of cases, maintaining
files in each case before court, receiving and disposing of fees related to those cases, and printing
and the distribution of the opinions of the court. The clerk of court in the supreme court reports
directly to the chief justice while in the court of appeal, the clerk of court reports to the chief
judge of their district.
At the trial court level, the clerk is referred to as "circuit clerks." They are responsible for
the maintaining of complete and accurate records of the court; the collection, accounting for, and
distribution of all monies paid into the court as well as other duties that assist in the duties
performed by the court. The circuit courts also receives, processes, and maintains all the
judgements, rules, others, and other proceedings as well as issuing summons, subpeonas.
executions, garnishments, sequestrations, judgments, orders, and commitments. Circuit Clerks
are also responsible for selecting and summonsing jurors. Because of all of the responsibilities
carried out by the clerk of court, whether it is for the supreme court or the court of appeals or the
trial court, I would have to say they play a major role in the court running efficiently. Without the
court clerk, the courthouse would be out of control. Trials would be chaotic because everyone
would show up at the same time to see the judge because the days would be double or triple
booked. However, I believe that the clerk of court is one of the most important positions of the
judicial system because they keep the court in order when it comes to trials.
References:
Carp, R. A., Manning, K. L., Holmes, L. M., & Stidham, R. (2019). Judicial Process in America
(11th Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US).
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781544316710
Meet your court staff. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=631