Description of County Office
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Texas District Clerk PDF version
District clerks are called on to assure that the
affairs of the district courts are maintained
objectively with the full confidence of
judicial authorities. Even though district
courts are state offices, they have become an
integral part of county government. The
duties of the office are virtually all judicial
and pertain to the district court. These
duties are extensive and interface with each
phase of the judicial process.
The office of district clerk has been included
in every Texas Constitution since the
Republic. The Texas Constitution states,
"There shall be a clerk for the district court
of each county, who shall be elected by the
qualified voters and who shall hold his
office for four years, subject to removal by
information, or by indictment of a grand
jury, and conviction of a petit jury. In case
of vacancy, the judge of the district court
shall have the power to appoint a clerk, who
shall hold until the office can be filled by
election."
In counties with populations less than 8,000,
a combination county/district clerk may be
elected unless voters authorize separate
offices. All new clerks, their deputies and
employees must be bonded and insured
against liabilities incurred through errors or
omissions and loss from burglary, theft,
robbery, counterfeit currency or destruction.
The primary role of the office is supporting
the district court system; this role is essential
to the court’s smooth operation. Depending
on the makeup of the judicial districts in a
county, a district clerk may serve one or
more district courts whose districts include
the clerk’s county. However, a single
district court whose district includes
multiple counties would be served by the
various district clerks of each county.
The district court hears many types of cases
including felony criminal, family, juvenile,
delinquent tax and greater value civil cases.
The district clerk is the official recorder,
registrar and custodian of all court
pleadings, instruments and papers that are
part of any district court case.
Other duties include indexing and securing
all court records, recording all court
verdicts, collecting filing fees, and handling
funds held in litigation and money awarded
to minors. Often present in the courtroom, a
district clerk files documents; administers
oaths to defendants, witnesses and jurors;
and assists the judge in managing the
docket.
After a court case is filed, the clerk may be
requested by an attorney or directed by court
order to issue certain documents. Some of
the documents issued may include a citation
to notify a party that a case was filed, a
warrant to have someone arrested, a
protective order to keep someone from
harm, a writ to garnish wages, an order to
sell property, or an execution to have
someone put to death. Any payable fees for
processing these documents also are
collected by the clerk’s office. These fees are then distributed to the proper state and
local agencies on a monthly basis. The
district clerk performs all of these duties
from the time a case is filed through
disposition, appeal and ancillary
proceedings that may occur for many years
after judgment.
Additional responsibilities include
maintaining a list of court fines and jury
fees. Included in the statement is the name
of the party from whom a fine or jury fee
was received, the name of each juror who
served during the term, the number of days
served, and the amount due the juror for the
services.
The district clerk is the officer of the court
in charge of the jury selection process and
acts as a liaison between the jurors, courts
and employers. This responsibility includes
summoning, selecting, swearing and
impaneling both petit and grand juries for
district courts.
A significant number of miscellaneous
duties are assigned to this office. These
include accepting passport applications in
counties with no local passport agency,
taking depositions of witnesses, and
administering oaths and affirmations.
According to statutory requirements, the
district clerk also gathers data and reports to
many state and local agencies. This
extensive reporting assists the county, the
state and the Legislature in determining the
proper operation of the courts, the
effectiveness of the statutes, and the need for
changes.
The office of the district clerk is responsible
for receiving and disbursing child support
payments in cases filed prior to 1994. With
the implementation of Federal Welfare
Reform legislation in 1996, district clerks
have been working in cooperation with the
Office of the Attorney General to implement
a centralized State Disbursement Unit
(SDU) for child support. Offices have the
option to maintain customer involvement
through local customer service, state case
registry, and/or local disbursement of child
support checks.
District clerks are required to obtain 20
education hours during each calendar year
that begins after election or appointment,
including at least one hour regarding registry
funds handled under Chapter 117 of the
Local Government Code and at least one
hour regarding fraudulent court documents and fraudulent document filings.
Richard O. Avery, Director and Stacy D. Morris, Extension Program Specialist
June 2004 |
