Constable Clerk

About the role

This position provides a variety of legal clerical duties in response to actions of the courts. Duties include interpreting and applying procedures and precedents to specific misdemeanor cases, coordinating and carrying out duties involved in assigned causes of action, and performing detailed and complex legal procedures.

Responsibilities

• Assists and answers questions from the public received in person, by phone or by email regarding the status, disposition, pending actions or other aspects of court cases.
• Processes incoming faxes and faxes document confirmation returns.
• Sorts, logs and distributes incoming mail and legal documents.
• Makes copies when appropriate.
• Sorts and distributes incoming mail and legal documents.
• May date-stamp incoming documents.
• Performs filing duties.
• May schedule wedding appointments.
• May provide notary services to public.
• Serves as liaison or primary point of contact with defendants, plaintiffs, families, judges, court personnel, Constable's Officers, attorneys, County and District Attorney's Office, law enforcement agencies, interested parties, and the general public regarding status, disposition, pending actions of individual cases and parties' actions.
• Assists public and departments on office policy and procedures.
• Responds to legal and administrative inquiries.
• Takes initial steps to resolve citizen complaints and ensures department policies and procedures are met.
• Provides technical advice and assistance regarding legal documents of all types.
• May assess fees and fines, receive payments, and perform as cashier for the office on a daily basis.
• Accepts monies in the form of cash, money orders and cashier checks and issues signed receipts.
• Receives payment from public for fees and lower court appeal bonds.
• Catches and processes petitions, indictments, tickets, affidavits, complaints, applications or information instituting a cause of action and makes appropriate notations in computer system including data element codes.
• Reviews documents submitted in assigned cause of action and determines case impact.
• May process emergency protection orders, peace bond applications, school cases, property hearings, animal cruelty seizures, unlawful towing of vehicles and writs of re-entry.
• May research and verify petitions and orders for expungement.
• Maintains a tracking system for processing acquittal expungement orders.
• Routes assigned causes of action to court, as required.
• May determine nature of suit and assess fees and fines.
• Determines the category and description of each document or transaction by reviewing event logs and case dockets.
• Organizes, barcodes, and scans documents into the document imaging system.
• Indexes each document by entering the appropriate category codes and descriptions so that documents can be retrieved quickly using a variety of data elements.
• Uses scanning software to input case information.
• Captures images and performs quality assurance.
• Scans incoming legal documents.
• Performs quality verification procedures on scanned documents prepared by co-workers.
• Assesses scanned electronic images for legibility, blank documents and missing records.
• Prepares or issues summons, capiases, warrants, commitments, subpoenas, citations, writs, injunctions, protective orders, restraining orders, judgments, notices and executed commitments by statute, rule, order of court or request by customer.
• May accept pleas, pleadings, and motions and records all documents.
• May schedule criminal and civil bench and jury trials.
• Prepares and issues subpoenas, judgments and orders.
• May coordinate with jury office to ensure adequate availability of jurors.
• Assists judge in courtroom with jurors and other parties during trial.
• Issues notices, prepares documents and files for court, and ensures equipment and materials are prepared daily for courtroom.
• Checks in parties arriving for trial and assists judge in courtroom.
• May schedule interpreter if needed.
• May prepare commitments and assist judge with jail call.
• May assist inmates who have limited English skills.
• May prepare appeals, including accepting bonds and determining due dates to be filed with Appellate Court.
• May process, execute and distribute judgments, opinions and mandates from Appellate Court.
• May provide radio and telecommunications services to deputies in the field.
• Receives, evaluates and responds to radio traffic.
• Maintains radio or phone contact and monitors deputies.
• Processes information received from field deputies and updates deputies with research.
• May calculate judgments and writs at multiple interest rates.
• Prepares public notices of property sales and postings.
• Prepares and files documents of sale, including deeds.
• Prepares legal notices of eviction.
• Maintains inventories of seized property and funds and arranges for storage, as required.
• Works closely with division managers on special projects.
• Conducts research inquiries in multiple databases.
• Updates legal files with pertinent information.
• May coordinate for off-site storage of records.
• Performs statistical analysis and produces activity reports.
• May receive warrants and processes warrant information into computer system.
• Coordinates files going to off-site storage and docketing of civil case files and civil bond forfeitures cases.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Requirements

Education and Experience: Associate's degree in Criminal Justice, Public Administration, Business Administration or a directly related field AND two (2) years of responsible clerical experience, including familiarity with legal procedures, terminology, the court system, and customer service; OR, Any combination of education and experience that has been achieved and is equivalent to the stated education and experience and required knowledge, skills, and abilities sufficient to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities of this job.