Court Clerks

Judicial administration components play a vital role within the judicial field. A courtroom cannot function properly without assistance from its key players such as court clerks, bailiff’s, docketing clerks and administrative assistants. It is these positions that allow caseflow management to be properly coordinated through the use of calendaring and docketing.

Court clerks are responsible for maintaining court efficiency, ensuring that everything operates seamlessly. In some parts of the United States, clerks are elected to office. It is the responsibility of a court clerk to process court pleadings when an attorney or a person that is representing themselves file a motion or brief. A clerk has enormous control over court scheduling because

Docket clerks keep records of information pertaining to each court case such as case type, number and the assigned attorney and judge as well as satisfying requests for information from attorneys and the public. They also keep a record of documents submitted to the court, such as motions and pleadings. They track the actions and decisions made in cases as they advance through the legal process. Docket clerks also help determine dates and times available for upcoming proceedings and provide information to witnesses about their court appearances. (A., Carp

A database of case related information such as cause of action, case number, dollar demand and nature of the lawsuit. A chronology of case event dates entered in the case records. A claims registry and lists of new cases each day. The PACER system also holds appellate court opinions, judgments or case statuses, types of documents filed for specific cases, and imaged copies of documents. (Pacer)

Docketing and calendaring help to improve scheduling conflicts, timing and other administrative errors. Court administrators and judges can increase judicial efficiency when they are able to supervise the courts progress from the time of filing. E-documents also help to minimize administrative errors and decrease case lengths by making documents accessible to everyone from anywhere. Court efficiency is also increased when court officials can set events and deadlines throughout the life of a case and provide dependable trial