Courtroom Clerk

DEFINITION

Under direction is responsible for preparing and processing legal documents and official records of Court proceedings in civil, criminal, family law, probate, juvenile, and small claims cases; exercises initiative and independent judgment in recording courtroom activities; provides technical and often confidential office support to the judge to which assigned, and performs related work as required.

This is the technical and specialized support class within the Court. Courtroom Clerks follow work procedures established by the administration of the Court and may provide office support to the assigned judge. This class differs from the classes in the Court Processing Specialist series of classes in that responsibilities of Courtroom Clerks are focused upon the provision of support to judicial staff rather than the preparation and processing of documents through the civil and criminal justice systems.

It is further distinguished from Supervising Courtroom Clerk in that the latter is the first full supervisory level in this technical class series and supervises this classification.

Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge, skills and abilities would be the equivalent of:

Education and Experience:

Equivalent to graduation from high school and two years of responsible legal, court or judicial office support experience, which provided familiarity with a wide variety of legal documents.

Knowledge of:
Court proceedings, local rules, Rules of Court, and California statutes; legal forms, documents, procedures and terminology relating to civil, criminal, probate, juvenile and small claims cases; correct business English, including spelling, grammar and punctuation; the operation of standard office equipment; record keeping principles and practices.

Skill in:
Operating a computer and driving a motor vehicle.

Ability to:
Record courtroom minutes of actions taken accurately and follow up with appropriate minute orders as required; provide responsible office support to an assigned judge; read, understand and review for accuracy legal and court documents and extract relevant information; use applicable legal office terminology, forms, documents and procedures in the course of the work; use sound judgment in following and applying appropriate laws, regulations, policies and procedures;

maintain accurate office files; make accurate arithmetic calculations; compose correspondence or documents independently or from brief instructions; organize own work, set priorities and meet critical deadlines; train staff in work procedures; communicate orally and in written form in a clear and concise manner; speak to the public in group settings; deal with stressful situations and manage upset and difficult members of the public;

deal tactfully and courteously with the…