Job Profile / Description / Responsibilities
As a court clerk you have the responsibility of all the administrative duties related to the county, city, state and the systems of federal court. Your duties would vary on the basis of the court that you would be entitled to work in. In most of the courts, court clerks have to do the transcribing and recording of all the proceedings, their minutes and do the preparation for scheduled cases and their dockets. At times, as a court clerk you would also be responsible to do the oaths' administration to the witnesses and the jurors.
As a court clerk you will also be responsible for new citizen's swearing in, passport processing etc. If you are employed in a large court then you would have the responsibility to direct all departments, staffs etc and give your time towards making reviews of all of the papers. These are related to legal aspects, conferring to the judges, lawyers and other legal authorities in relation to any kind of court issues.
If you want to be an assistant clerk or even a deputy clerk, then too you would be given equally important duties, such as preparation of court forms, reports, petitions, warrants, and decision processing in a court for the purpose of publications. You might also require empaneling all the jurors as an assistant clerk, and thereby provide information on the procedures of the court.
Requirements to be a Court Clerk
Academic
If you are interested to apply for the post of a court clerk, then you must at least possess a high school degree but a bachelor's degree or even a business school degree would increase your chances to a higher level. Employers prefer candidates with at bachelor's degree. This is because most of the clerks in the federal court possess law degrees, master's degree etc. The least degree that an applicant must have is a GED. If you have degree programs in business or criminal justice then it would be really useful. This depends on the job location and the court.
Skills Set
Applicants must be skilled in areas like bookkeeping, word processing, management of business and staff, budgeting and lastly accounting. Having excellent English skills are mandatory and so is the availability of foreign language which would aid in some zones of the US. You must also possess integrity, discretion and a good judgment skill. All these skills are crucial and are important for getting a job as a court clerk. You have to have an excellent organizational skill and have the knowledge of machines that are typically used in these offices. This is inclusive of telephones, typewriters, microfilm, copy machines, and most importantly computers. Familiarity with various regulations, rules, procedures etc of a court, state and county is a must, especially related to regulations of transcriptions and oaths.
Court Clerk Career Prospects
Advancement in this field of court clerks depends mostly on the skills, experience in relation to responsibilities and duties, higher educations and also on a performance test. If you initially apply for the post of a deputy or an assistant clerk, then you can expect to advance as a court clerk or even a chief deputy clerk. Advancements can be made if you move from place to place, city to country courts or even federal courts. There are opportunities to become parole, legal aides, probation officers and even lawyers if you acquire a job of a court clerk.
The average pay scale of a court clerk on hourly basis ranges between $10 and $20 per hour depending on a number of factors, which include location, education, experience etc. As a court clerk your salary would also vary as per the responsibilities, duties, size of the court etc. On an average level the salary is around $27,300 annually. Most of the clerks are also entitled to various benefits, like paid holidays, retirement plans, health insurance, vacations etc.
But if you are serious about getting a job as a court clerk then you must keep in mind that in spite of the offices and courtrooms being rather comfortable areas to work, the job of a court clerk is stressful as the duties and limitation of time is strenuous.
