Nature of Work

This is responsible administrative and legal work assisting with the coordination of civil and criminal cases handled by the General Sessions Court in Marshall County. Incumbents are primarily responsible for organizing and coordinating the criminal and civil court dockets, notifying law enforcement personnel, attorneys, witnesses, and defendants regarding court proceedings, and collecting fines and fees imposed for various criminal and civil charges. Additional activities associated with the job include monitoring bonding company’s obligations to the county and serving as a liaison between the session court judges, law enforcement agencies, inmates in custody and the public. Job responsibilities require strong organizational, decision-making, and interpersonal skills, dedicated attention to detail and considerable knowledge of courtroom proceedings and legal processes associated with criminal and civil cases coming before the court. Job performance is evaluated by the General Sessions Court Clerk through review of the efficiency and effectiveness of court operations, ability to interact successfully with law enforcement personnel, defendants, attorneys, and the public, organizational, and decision-making skills and knowledge of legal procedures and protocols associated with General Sessions Court operations.

Illustrative Examples of Work

· Assists the public regarding their criminal charges, traffic citations and/or civil issues and takes payments from customers regarding civil, traffic and/or criminal charges.

· Assists individuals wanting to file suit and explains processes associated with filing cases brought before the court.

· Assists with preparing dockets for General Sessions Court and scheduling officer’s, attorney’s, and prosecutor’s court dates for each month.

· Assists attorneys’ offices with civil filings and any information needed for their cases.

· Processes garnishments.

· Receipts garnishment payments submitted to the office.

· Reviews the hearing docket prior to civil and criminal court hearings to ensure that all cases have received service, subpoenas have been issued, etc.

· Resets court dates when necessary and notifies the parties involved.

· Performs data entry activities for General Sessions Court including court dates, arraignments, fees collected, etc.

· Assists with the collection of fees and fines, enters the information into the computer and assists with preparing bank deposits.

· Assists with signing warrants and assigning bonds for officers including orders of protection if it is a domestic bond.

· Issues failures to appear notices for defendants who failed to appear in court proceedings and notifies the appropriate bonding company if bonds were posted on the case.

· Assists with conducting jail arraignments with General Sessions Court judges.

· Enters probation violations, makes copies and submits to the Sheriff’s office.

· Files motions notice of appearances for the court and prepares transport orders for inmates incarcerated in other counties.

· Assists individuals with traffic citations who have not satisfied their obligations before the court and makes necessary notices to the Department of Safety.

· Rotates cash boxes, ensures that each has the correct amount of change and ensures that all payments are recorded and balanced at the end of the day.

· Enters warrants, traffic tickets, etc. into the computer database and updates as necessary.

· Prepares a Public Defender report on a weekly basis and a cost compliance docket on a monthly basis.

· Assists with coordinating defendant’s, officer’s, and prosecutor’s trail dates after consulting with their schedules.

· Monitors the activities of bonding companies to ensure they meet their obligations to the county.

· Serves as a liaison between the judge’s office, law enforcement personnel, inmates in custody and the public.

· Assists the public by answering incoming calls, explaining court proceedings, and providing general information regarding General Sessions Court.

· Maintains files utilized in court proceedings and stamps file orders, petitions, and motions of the court.

· Issues and enters civil warrants into the computer and redistributes costs to pay officers for the process of service for civil warrants.

· Assists the judge with civil matters, takes down judgments and enters information regarding civil cases into the computer.

· Performs related duties as required.

Necessary Requirements of Work

Graduation from an accredited four-year high school supplemented with coursework and training in criminal justice, law enforcement, public administration, or closely related field; a minimum of two years’ experience working in court operations and/or law enforcement; strong decision making, organizational and interpersonal skills; or any equivalent combination of education and experience to provide the following knowledge, abilities, and skills:

· Considerable knowledge of all legal transactions and proceedings associated with General Sessions Court operations including applicable sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated, general manual for Clerks of the Courts and Local Rules of the Court.

· Considerable knowledge of federal, state, and local laws pertaining to the rights of defendants, victims and witnesses involved in legal matters before the court.

· Considerable knowledge of the statutes pertaining to bonding companies and the forfeiture of bonds for failure to appear violations.

· Considerable knowledge of the statutes applicable to defendants involved in civil and criminal matters before the court and/or placed on probation, public service requirements, etc.

· Considerable knowledge of the laws and regulations pertaining to the supervision of individuals placed on probation.

· Ability to coordinate and organize the daily operations of General Sessions Court in an effective and efficient manner.

· Ability to interact in a tactful and professional manner with defendants, witnesses, family members, law enforcement personnel, attorneys and the public.

· Ability to make appropriate and timely decisions regarding the scheduling of sessions court operations, disposition of cases, performance of bonding companies and level of compliance with court ordered remedies and restitution.

· Ability to perform data entry activities in a consistently accurate manner and account for all fees and fines received by the court.

· Ability to prioritize job related activities to insure the efficient operation of the court and completion of all assignments in a timely and thorough manner.

Necessary Special Requirements

· Possession of a valid Tennessee Driver’s License and the ability to obtain insurance at standard vehicle liability rates.

· Job responsibilities require the incumbent to be bonded.

Physical Requirements

· This is light to moderate work requiring the exertion of up to 40 pounds of force occasionally and a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to move objects.

· Work requires moderate flexibility, mobility, and speed of limb movement.

· Work requires moderate effort and stamina.

· Work requires both gross body equilibrium and coordination for balancing, bending, stooping, kneeling, and walking.

· Work requires considerable arm/ hand steadiness and manual and finger dexterity.

· Vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word.

· Work requires hand and finger dexterity including reaching, grasping, and repetitive motions.

· Vocal communication is required for expressing and exchanging ideas by means of the spoken work; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels.

· Visual acuity is required for preparing and analyzing written or computer data, operation of machines, determining the accuracy and thoroughness of work, and observing general surroundings and activities.

· The worker is subject to inside and occasional outside environmental conditions.

The intent of this position description is to provide a representative summary of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and is not a declaration of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be assigned job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: From $15.97 per hour

Expected hours: No more than 30 per week

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 457(b)

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person