Assistant Court Clerk (County Courts) - District Clerks - 0107-3530

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Required Test: Clerical

SUMMARY:

Provides services for two County Courts-at-Law by maintaining the Minute books, sending notices to attorneys, and filing material within the courts.

Responds to requests for assistance from the Court Clerk and other officials of each court, processes and files a variety of legal documents.

In the absence of a Court Clerk, carries out all the duties of that position.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED:

Ultimate organizational supervision is exercised by the Chief of the Civil Division in the District Clerk’s Office.

The incumbent generally determines how much time will be spent on the work of each of the two courts.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: This position’s primary functions are to:

Record final judgments on civil and criminal cases in the minute books.

Enter the volume and page numbers for each judgment into the computer database.

Send notices to attorneys after a judge signs various orders.

File material within the court office.

Provide information, records, etc. in response to requests from a variety of sources (Judge, Court Manager, Bailiff, Court Clerk, attorneys, and District Clerk staff)

At the discretion of the District Clerk’s Office, the incumbent may be temporarily reassigned (typically, from one day to three months) to meet workload demands in such areas as the Probate Section or a District Court.

The Assistant Court Clerk is knowledgeable about all of the duties listed below, which constitute most of the functions of a Court Clerk.

The incumbent will carry out any of these duties when requested, and, in the absence of a Court Clerk, will be responsible for all of them.

Providing assistance to court, court manager, and attorneys as needed.

Providing and assisting with legal documents during court, including, but not limited to, the preparation of stipulations, court orders, judgements, and dispositions.

Receiving dockets for each court, assembling files for each day, making appropriate entries on dockets, and filing legal documents presented to the court.

Retrieving files based on signed orders or motions.

Preparing commitments, warrants for “jail runs,” and other materials as required by the court docket.

Preparing judgment and sentence papers as required; may calculate jail time and give the defendant credit in criminal cases.

Preparing jury strikes and making copies for all parties.

Reviewing and verifying accuracy of information prior to issuing legal documents.

Closing out case files; tabulating court costs; and notifying parties.

Maintaining records on case status.

Responding to requests for information on status and disposition of cases.

Reviewing and following up on files for cases without action.

Issuing various documents under orders from a judge, obtaining appropriate signatures and notifying applicable parties.

Receiving petitions from prosecutors, filing stamp, and searching for case number, attorney, and court date.

Completing and routing all paperwork related to the process.

Maintaining control of court files at all times.

Checking orders, judgments, motions, and other paperwork for completeness and proper signature.

Attending court to assist at arraignments, pre-trial conferences, and docket calls.

Retrieving files from the Probate Section for hearings, small estates, and condemnation cases, and retrieving files from the Criminal Section for scheduled hearings.

Acting as liaison among the court, attorneys, bonds people, prosecutor’s office, sheriff’s department, probation department, County Clerk, District Clerk, and the public.

Reading files to determine cause and status of cases.

Determining by motions and orders submitted what actions are required. Preparing and filing necessary paperwork to accomplish the actions.

QUALIFICATIONS:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Any employee who drives a vehicle on official business must have a driving record which meets standards set by the County and the County’s insurance carrier.

EDUCATION and EXPERIENCE:

This position requires a high school diploma or GED certificate with courses in typing or word processing, plus at least three years of clerical experience.

At least one year of that clerical experience must have involved work in a court, or dealing with legal documents, or other work in a judicial or law-office setting.

Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities, may be considered for current Nueces County employees only.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.

Ability to write routine reports and correspondence.

Ability to speak effectively before groups of customers or employees of organization.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS:

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent.

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as proportions and percentages.

REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.

Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

Knowledge of modern office practices and procedures including automated statistical and record keeping systems.

Working knowledge of local court rules.

Working knowledge of any combination of the following: Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Code of Criminal Procedure, Penal Code, Family Code, Probate Code and Rules of Eminent Domain Proceedings.

Familiarity with complex legal documents, instruments, records and reports.

Excellent command of the English language and knowledge of legal terminology.

Ability to type accurately at a speed of at least 40 words per minute.

Ability to operate standard office machines.

Ability to operate or demonstrated ability to learn automated word processing equipment.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with judges, members of the legal profession and the general public.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, and talk or hear.

The employee is occasionally required to walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

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