A court clerk is responsible for supporting court procedures and civil justice systems by performing administrative and clerical duties for law enforcement personnel and court officers. Court clerks perform data processing procedures, sorting documents, storing court records, maintaining confidentiality on clients' information, managing internal communications, scheduling meetings, and assisting in court investigations. They also respond to the visitors' inquiries and concerns, verify their appointments, and direct them to the appropriate personnel and department. A court clerk must be highly communicative and organizational, especially when maintaining records during court procedures and processing court fines.

Court Clerk Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real court clerk resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Manage operations and LAN, plus data interchange with other agencies.
  • Receive and record payments of fees or fines, process notary commissions, order files and purge old files for achieves.
  • Answer public inquiries in terms of judicial proceedings, trial dates and witness fees along with preparing probation orders and summonses.
  • Maintain report for NCIC reports.
  • Count ballots and sign summons when necessary.
  • Handle daily operations of filing child support summons.
  • Take payments and assist customers at front windows.
  • Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
  • Recommend the scheduling of probate hearings if issues require judge's intervention.
  • Proofread legal documents prior to submitting for judge's signature, filing and mailing.
  • Process files in probate, child protection, conciliation, criminal, juvenile, civil and family cases.
  • Accept payments for fines and bonds from overnight jail defendants and from the counter as needed and report as balanced.
  • Sign and file warrants, subpoenas, and all documents with attorneys and the judges' chambers from the court rooms.
  • Prepare subpoenas and process all case dispositions including sentencing hearings.
  • Assist public in complaint/intake forms, magistrate appeals & extradition documentation.

Court Clerk Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 10% of Court Clerks are proficient in Data Entry, Customer Service, and Subpoenas. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Integrity, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Court Clerks that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Data Entry, 10%

    Performed data entry updates and public relations assignments.

  • Customer Service, 9%

    Provided quality customer service* Operated a variety of standard and specialized office equipment and performed other clerical duties.

  • Subpoenas, 5%

    Prepared subpoenas and processed all case dispositions including sentencing hearings.

  • Court Dates, 5%

    Set court dates and handled official notifications to appear in court by way of certified mail or use of bailiff service.

  • Bench Warrants, 4%

    Handled confidential documentation, including arrest warrants and bench warrants.

  • Court Orders, 4%

    Utilized data processing equipment to accurately prepare marriage licenses, court ordered judgments and orders.

Some of the skills we found on court clerk resumes included "data entry," "customer service," and "subpoenas." We have detailed the most important court clerk responsibilities below.

  • Communication skills can be considered to be the most important personality trait for a court clerk to have. According to a court clerk resume, "information clerks must be able to explain policies and procedures clearly to customers and the public." Court clerks are able to use communication skills in the following example we gathered from a resume: "operate a variety of public safety telecommunications equipment, cad, records management system, alarm boards and other miscellaneous equipment. "
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform court clerk duties is the following: integrity. According to a court clerk resume, "information clerks, particularly human resources assistants, have access to confidential information." Check out this example of how court clerks use integrity: "do probate, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, divorces, juvenile cases, paternity and child support cases. "
  • Interpersonal skills is also an important skill for court clerks to have. This example of how court clerks use this skill comes from a court clerk resume, "information clerks who work with the public and customers must understand and communicate information effectively to establish positive relationships." Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "trained to use all office equipment and computer software, developed my strong interpersonal skills. "
  • A court clerk responsibilities sometimes require "organizational skills." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "information clerks must be able to retrieve files and other important information quickly and efficiently." This resume example shows how this skill is used by court clerks: "utilized accounting and organizational skills by handling all money received into the district court and maintaining accurate accounting records. "
  • See the full list of court clerk skills.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious court clerks are:

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    What Clerk Of Superior Courts Do

    In a criminal justice internship, an intern gains industry insights and practical experience by observing how criminal justice theories are put into practice. Although their duties can vary upon the directives given by a supervising criminal justice professional or agency of employment, they are usually responsible for performing support tasks such as conducting research and analysis, organizing files, studying criminal cases, and running errands. Some interns may also participate in shadowing police officers, gathering and analyzing evidence, attending hearings, or facilitating public service programs.

    We looked at the average court clerk annual salary and compared it with the average of a clerk of superior court. Generally speaking, clerks of superior court receive $4,209 lower pay than court clerks per year.

    While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both court clerks and clerks of superior court positions are skilled in data entry, subpoenas, and court dates.

    As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a court clerk responsibility requires skills such as "customer service," "bench warrants," "court orders," and "court dockets." Whereas a clerk of superior court is skilled in "criminal justice," "real estate," "multi-line phone system," and "legal issues." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

    Clerks of superior court tend to reach similar levels of education than court clerks. In fact, clerks of superior court are 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 15.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Criminal Justice Internship?

    Now we're going to look at the criminal justice internship profession. On average, criminal justice interns earn a $5,299 lower salary than court clerks a year.

    While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both court clerks and criminal justice interns are known to have skills such as "subpoenas," "court proceedings," and "district court. "

    But both careers also use different skills, according to real court clerk resumes. While court clerk responsibilities can utilize skills like "data entry," "customer service," "court dates," and "bench warrants," some criminal justice interns use skills like "criminal justice," "pre-trial conferences," "intake interviews," and "child abuse."

    In general, criminal justice interns study at similar levels of education than court clerks. They're 1.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 15.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Process Server Compares

    The process server profession generally makes a higher amount of money when compared to the average salary of court clerks. The difference in salaries is process servers making $25,711 higher than court clerks.

    While looking through the resumes of several court clerks and process servers we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "subpoenas," "court orders," and "court proceedings," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from court clerk resumes include skills like "data entry," "customer service," "court dates," and "bench warrants," whereas a process server might be skilled in "affidavits," "legal papers," "legal process," and "law firm. "

    Interestingly enough, process servers earn the most pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $67,773. As mentioned previously, court clerks highest annual salary comes from the government industry with an average salary of $39,296.

    Process servers are known to earn similar educational levels when compared to court clerks. Additionally, they're 0.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Court Assistant

    Now, we'll look at court assistants, who generally average a higher pay when compared to court clerks annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $7,669 per year.

    According to resumes from both court clerks and court assistants, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "subpoenas," "court dates," and "bench warrants. "

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "data entry," "customer service," "court dockets," and "office equipment" are skills that have shown up on court clerks resumes. Additionally, court assistant uses skills like family court, law enforcement, community resources, and vital signs on their resumes.

    In general, court assistants reach similar levels of education when compared to court clerks resumes. Court assistants are 1.2% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.