All administrative workers who are responsible to perform the clerical responsibilities associated with the court are called as clerks of court. These people have to carry out a number of day to day tasks which are a significant part of the judiciary system.
These clerks are supposed to possess a variety of qualities like proficient, self-motivated and skilful to assist court in working efficiently and smoothly. There is a difference between court clerk, law clerk and court reporter. All three of these positions are different from each other with unique responsibilities.
Let’s discuss in more detail about the job role and responsibilities of clerk of court.
Court Clerk Duties
So, what does a clerk of court do? The clerk of courts has to look after the non-judicial functions of the court. In short, he is responsible for doing crucially everything that a court does apart from trying cases.
Let’s have a look at some of the major responsibilities of a clerk of court:
- He is responsible for developing and issuing all court orders from scratch. These orders can be related to probation, summonses or any other court related activities.
- A clerk of court also develops documents of variety of cases
- The legal document that people submit to court needs examination. A court of clerk is responsible to perform complete analysis of these documents to identify any mistake from legal point of view.
- He has to search for the files related to each individual’s case.
- This job role also involves calling witnesses and their litigants as well as attorneys to get the required details for the court
- Clerk court requirements for the job also include developing schedules for the entire staff.
- He also has to swear in defendants, witnesses, interpreters as well as jury members.
- The person is also accountable for giving proper instructions to different parties at the time when they are coming to appear behind the court.
As you can interpret from all these points covering the clerk court duties that the job of a clerk if not an easy one. It includes a variety of multiple administrative tasks. The job duties are highly significant to help the court in running all its operations smoothly, efficiently and successfully.
Deputy Clerk Office
Now that the world has been moving towards complete advancement in the field of information technology and data sciences, it has resulted in a complete shift in the way the job of a clerk of court used to function. The old system of record keeping, communication, judicial operation, etc has changed at a drastic speed. All these changes have moved the duties and responsibilities for the court clerk’s office.
There was a time when records were not electronic. In those days, it was necessary for different members of the public to pay a visit to the clerk’s office to analyze court records. Now, with all the advancement, everyone can easily access this information online. It is literally just a click away. This information that is available online is also preserved by the court clerk’s office.
One thing to note here is that the efforts of the clerk of court are mostly not recognized by most of the people. However, we cannot deny the fact that it is all because of the clerk of court that the entire system is more transparent than it has been ever before.
What Is A Clerk of Court Salary?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average annual income of a court clerk is approximately $37,000.
Court Clerk Requirements
Now that we have clearly understood the duties and responsibilities that the clerk of court is responsible to perform, it is equally important to understand the requirement for this role as well.
Educational Requirements
Most people wonder about the educational qualifications that are needed to be eligible to perform court clerk duties.
You do not need to have any prior experience to apply for the job of a clerk of court. Most of these positions are entry-level jobs. If you are interested in applying for this position, then all you need to do is have a high school diploma degree.
However, there are certain courts with different educational requirements as well. They may demand a degree in public administration, business, criminal justice or maybe in law.
Few states even offer court clerk training that helps the worker learn and grow through role specific training that not only guides about official activities but also duties related directly to court.
Finally, sometimes the clerk of a court is required to invest himself into continuous education. These requirements may vary from one court to another. Some courts may demand from the clerk to get enrolled in refresher courses and complete these courses every year. WHile most courts do not have any such requirements.
Personal Skills Requirements
The court clerk requirements also sometimes demand the workers to possess some personal skills as well apart from education skills.
The system of the court requires individuals who are not just organized but also have basic know-how about the latest office technology.
Moreover, there are other soft skills that are required like communication, speaking skills, negotiation, etc..
Most important skill is the ability to deal and address large groups of people. Why so? It is one of the court clerk duties to handle multiple complaints coming from different individuals belonging to various groups. Some of these people are hostile and harsh which requires a cool and calm person who can satisfy them with the responses.
How to Apply to Become A Clerk of Court?
The potential clerks of a court who have legal experience, good customer service and public skills along with a praiseworthy legal experience are more likely to shine bright as compared to others who do not possess such skills. If you want to apply for a clerk, then follow these steps:
- Send your profile to open clerk jobs
- Go through a background check
- Clear a drug test
- Get interviewed
- Clear it and accept the offer
- Get court clerk training
Bottom Line
Now that you have understood the duties and requirements of the clerk of court, you might be interested in choosing this role as your career. If handling the responsibilities of the administration department of the court sounds exciting to you and you feel that you possess the necessary court clerk requirements then we recommend you to definitely go for this option. You can directly apply for the job from multiple job portals and try your luck.
However, if you like the court clerk duties but are not sure whether or not you should choose this job as your career, then we recommend you to apply for an internship in this role first.
Well, one thing that we can say for sure is that if you decide to work as a clerk of a court, then it can help you in building a successful life-long career. To succeed in the deputy clerk office, we suggest you to opt for an undergraduate degree that helps you in developing the necessary skills that fulfil the court clerk requirements. These skills may be public handling or critical thinking. Just ensure that whatever skill set you decide to learn and invest your time in assists you in future to strongly establish the base of your career as clerk of court.
One final advice for you is to efficiently utilize your college resources and choose internships that give you extra benefits in future in pursuing your dream career and other professional goals.
