Acourt clerk (British English:clerk to the court orclerk of the court/klɑːrk/;American English:clerk of the court orclerk of court/klɜːrk/) is anofficer of the court whose responsibilities includemaintaining records of acourt and administeringoaths towitnesses,jurors, andgrand jurors[1][2] as well as performing some quasi-secretarial duties.[3] The records management duties of a court clerk include the acceptance of documents forfiling with the court to become part of the court's official records, preserving and protecting those records, providing the general public with access to those records, and maintaining thedocket, register of actions, and/or minutes of the court which list all filings and events in each case.[3] These duties are important because the availability of legal relief often depends upon the timely filing of documents before applicable deadlines.
In themagistrates' courts ofEngland and Wales, where thebench will usually have no legal qualifications, thejustices' clerk will be legally qualified. The magistrates decide on the facts at issue; the clerkadvises them on the law relating to the case.[4] In theCrown Court the clerk is responsible for managing the courtroom and will sit at the front of the court below the judge. They empanel juries,arraign defendants and are responsible for maintaining the court record; which includes keeping a log of proceedings and creating warrants, notices and orders. Crown court clerks wear similar attire to abarrister, but without the wig; unless aHigh Court Judge is sitting.[5]
Clerks of court can be found at every level of theCourts of Scotland, with a legally qualified clerk acting as legal adviser tojustices of the peace injustice of the peace courts.[6] In thesheriff courts the clerk is known as a sheriff clerk, and the sheriff clerks are responsible for the administration and running of all cases in the court.[7] Clerks also support and administer theCourt of Session andHigh Court of Justiciary, with thePrincipal Clerk of Session and Justiciary responsible for the administration of theSupreme Courts of Scotland and for directing their associated staff.[8]
Federal courts, including theSupreme Court of the United States, theUnited States courts of appeals, the variousUnited States district courts (and their attachedbankruptcy courts) and otherArticle III courts all employ a "clerk of court" who is the executive hired by the judges of the court to carry out the administration of the court. Among the clerk's core duties are the maintenance of court records (including trial exhibits), the custody and administration of the funds received by and dispensed from the court, the oversight of non-judicial personnel, and the provision of services to the judges of the court. A court reporter maintains the record of the court's proceedings.[9]
Historically, somestate trial courts have traditionally used thecounty clerk as the ex officio court clerk as a money-saving measure. Other states achieved the same result by making the court clerk the ex officio county clerk, as well as other roles such as countyrecorder,auditor, etc.
This double consolidation of roles between the executive and judicial branches and betweenstate andlocal governments made sense as a money-saving measure in sleepy rural counties on theAmerican frontier when they were sparsely populated and had rather rudimentary legal systems. It no longer made quite as much sense in heavily populated urban counties by the late 20th century. Attempts by state trial courts to employ their own court clerks independent of county clerks were upheld by theSupreme Court of California in 1989[10] and theSupreme Court of Nevada in 2001.[11]
A legal adviser in the court gives advice on the law and makes sure the magistrates follow the right procedures.
Day-to-day responsibility for judicial administration rests with each individual court.
