Court Clerk

WCA: Wisconsin Counties Association; Pierce (NE); On-site; USD 42,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

Wisconsin Counties Association seeks a Court Clerk to support civil, jury, small claims, traffic and criminal duties. The role requires learning and cross-training in many court functions, working closely with public, attorneys, judges, and law enforcement.

Strong confidentiality and organizational skills are essential. Responsibilities include clerking hearings, processing electronic filings, assembling juror materials, managing dockets, and preparing judgments and warrants.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent; legal or business courses preferred.
• Ability to type 50 words per minute and maintain accuracy.
• Strong verbal and written communication with attorneys, law enforcement, and the public.
• Ability to organize records and maintain confidentiality.
• Proficiency with CCAP and Wisconsin Court Access systems.
• Ability to work with diverse stakeholders in a courthouse setting.

Responsibilities

• Clerk court hearings across civil, jury, small claims, traffic, and criminal dockets.
• Process electronic filings, maintain civil case records, and foreclosures.
• Prepare and manage jury panels, voir dire materials, and juror communications.
• Manage small claims filings, writs, and docketing.
• Prepare judgments, warrants, and court orders; assist in court operations.
• Provide front-counter assistance, answer inquiries, and help the public.

Skills

Typing 50 wpm

Communication skills

Confidentiality

English literacy

Organizational skills

Data analysis

Problem solving

Teamwork

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Tools

CCAP

Wisconsin Court Access

Job description

Application Deadline: 2026-09-16
Job Type: County
Job Description Purpose of Position:
This position is responsible for working in the following areas: jury, civil, small claims, criminal, family, paternity, criminal traffic, traffic and forfeitures. This position works closely with the public, attorneys, judges, sheriff’s department, district attorney’s office, court commissioners, police officers, department of motor vehicles, child support, corporation counsel and District Court Administrator. A Court Clerk will need to learn and be crossed‑trained in all duties and responsibilities cited in this position description.
Essential Duties And Responsibilities To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily and in a timely manner. The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all inclusive. Other duties may be required or assigned.
Civil Duties

• Clerk court hearings.
• Efiling and maintenance and of civil cases, including foreclosures, money judgments, personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, intentional tort, appeals from municipal court judgment, property damage, minor settlements, name changes, domestic abuse, restraining orders, harassment restraining orders, vulnerable adult restraining orders, construction liens, condominium liens, foreign judgments, transcript judgments, family and human service liens, earnings garnishments, wage earner actions, petition for writ certiorari, other real estate actions, requests for changes with vital statistics forms, etc.

Jury Duties

• Send out Juror Qualification Questionnaires for new jury pools; enter juror information into CCAP system. Notify jurors of court dates; Set up panels for each jury trial scheduled for the month and mail summons letters; prepare jury trial sign‑in sheet and juror handbooks. Update jury calendar each week.
• Communicate with and assist bailiffs.
• Prepare paperwork for courtroom use in jury trials.
• Process jury cases for month end; end of each month close out jury cases and prepare payment vouchers for each juror.

Small Claims Duties

• Clerk Court hearings.
• Receive all electronically filed documents and new case filings for small claims money, eviction and replevin cases; process small claims dispositions from judge and court commissioner; file earnings and non‑earnings garnishments; file State tax warrants; enter, verify and satisfy state tax warrants; prepare semi‑yearly tax warrant billing and receipt of payment of fees.
• Schedule initial appearances for small claims hearings; prepare writs of replevin, restitution and assistance; prepare civil bench warrants for small claims cases; prepare minute sheets for upcoming small claims hearings.
• Assist in facilitating court ordered mediation between parties
• Collect and receipt for filling fees, docket fees, writ fees, satisfaction fees and garnishment fees. Scan case documents that are not electronically filed and review scanned documents before disposal of hard file in old cases.
• Clerk court proceedings for the Judge and the Court Commissioner using in court processing. Record all of the court commissioner court hearings using the digital audio recorder.

Traffic Duties

• Initiate traffic, criminal traffic, and forfeiture violations from DNR, UWRF, State Patrol, Pierce County, Ellsworth, Spring Valley, Elmwood, and local villages. Prepare Judgment of Convictions, Default Judgments, Time to Pay statements, Orders for Alcohol Assessments and Driver Safety Plans. Scan files, received documents, and filed documents; file paperwork, dockets, or files.
• Clerk traffic court; monitor digital recording devices for court hearings; print traffic calendars for Court Commissioner, Clerk, and Officer.
• Prepare court appointed attorney paperwork, substitution of Judge paperwork, enter and file search warrants; enter warrants and distribute appropriate paperwork.
• Run weekly reports for newspapers, cancelled warrant report, failure to pay report, issue warrants and suspensions for unpaid fines. Annually review citations and review retention period.
• Provide a list of weekly court cases to the media

Criminal Duties

• Initiate criminal felony and misdemeanor cases. Maintain the court records through CCAP for the cases.
• Monitor and collect filing fees, fines, forfeitures, bonds, costs, restitution, and jury fees.
• Report dispositions to CIB, prepare Judgments of Convictions, prepare arrest orders and requests for substitution of Judge.
• Notify parties, attorneys and the district attorney of future court dates and court cancellations.
• Complete background searches for the Hand Gun Hotline, the military, and various other agencies.
• Attend initial appearance hearings for criminal felony, misdemeanor and traffic cases.
• Provide the Sheriff Department with weekly court appearance lists for fingerprints, photographs and DNA samples.
• Prepare and turn over judgments to SDC

Family/Paternity Duties

• Initiate family and paternity cases. Maintain the court records through CCAP for the cases.
• Notify parties, attorneys, guardian ad litems, and the Child Support Agency of future court dates and court cancellations.
• Collects filing fees, Guardian ad litems deposits and costs.
• Prepares wage assignments, requests for substitution of judge forms, various Bureau of Vital Statistics forms, arrest warrants, as well as miscellaneous forms.
• Prepare paperwork for court ordered mediation and Kids First Programs.
• Clerk court hearings.
• Appoint Mediators and Guardian ad litems for family cases.

General Case Duties

• Take minutes of court proceedings and document all findings of the court for use by the court staff to dispose of the cases. Prepare and distribute paperwork to the attorneys and all parties after the cases are completed. Document court exhibits entered on cases.
• Swear in witnesses. Sign in jurors for trials. Assist in the set up of technology for use during court hearings;
• Clerk the Court Commissioner hearings and monitor the digital audio recording system.
• Receipt for fines, forfeitures and various filing and copying fees.
• Prepare alcohol assessments for defendants. Review bail bonds with defendants after court proceedings. Notify Probation Office of defendants who need to meet with them.
• Notify the jail of defendant’s court ordered bonds and future court hearings.
• Notify the DOC of defendants sentenced to probation

General Office Duties

• Provide assistance to the public at the front counter and answer phone calls.
• Respond to inquiries directly, by phone, or in writing. Pull files and provide copies and certifications as appropriate. Provide forms as needed.
• Receipt of payments, bonds, docket fees, and filing fees. Assist public with using WI Court Access website.
• Assist with new case filings, small claims, family, and civil.
• Receive, open and distribute mail. Sort outgoing mail and interoffice mail.
• Enter new family, civil, small claims cases, construction liens, and transcripts of judgments filed at the front counter.
• Other duties as assigned by Clerk of Courts

Minimum Qualifications High School Diploma, supplemented by legal or business courses or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities.Preferred Qualifications Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:Knowledge of current office practices and financial record keeping procedures. Knowledge of and ability to utilize computers, computer systems and the required software. Ability to type 50 words per minute. Ability to organize work and develop work procedures with minimum supervision; Ability to communicate orally and in writing with attorneys, law clerks, Judges, Clerk of Court staff, law enforcement personnel, court reporters and the general public; ability to prepare and maintain records. Must be dependable, tactful, and maintain confidentiality. Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. Ability to compute rates, ratios, and percentages. Must be able to read, write, and understand English. Ability to analyze and categorize data and information in order to determine the relationship of the data with reference to established criteria/standards. Ability to compare, count, differentiate, measure and/or sort, as well as assemble, copy, record and transcribe data and information. Ability to classify, compute and tabulate data. Ability to advise and provide interpretation to others how to apply policies, procedures and standards to specific situations. Ability to utilize a variety of advisory data and information such as court orders and a variety of legal documents, CCAP manual, computer software operating manual, State statutes, training materials procedures, guidelines and non‑routine correspondence. Ability to exercise the judgment, decisiveness and creativity required in situations involving the evaluation of information against sensory and/or judgment criteria. Ability to operate office equipment and machinery requiring simple but continuous adjustments, such as computer keyboard/terminal, typewriter, calculator/adding machine, fax machine, telephone, and photocopier.
Ability to organize work and develop work procedures with minimum supervision; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with County officials, County administrators County employees, and general public; ability to prepare and maintain records. Must be dependable, tactful, and maintain confidentiality. Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals. Ability to compute rates, ratios, and percentages. Must be able to read, write, and understand English.Physical Requirements This work requires the frequent exertion of up to 10 pounds of force and occasional exertion of up to 50 pounds of force; work requires speaking and hearing, repetitive motions, frequently requires standing and reaching with hands and arms and occasionally requires sitting, walking, climbing stairs, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, pushing, pulling and lifting. Work requires close vision, ability to adjust focus, color perception and peripheral vision, vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word and conveying detailed or important instructions to others accurately, loudly or quickly; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels and to receive detailed information through oral communications and/or to make fine distinctions in sound; work requires preparing and analyzing written computer data, operating machines and observing general surroundings and activities.Special Requirements Environmental Ability:
Ability to work under generally safe and comfortable conditions where exposure to environmental factors poses little risk of injury.
Pierce County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the American Disabilities Act, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer.
https://www.co.pierce.wi.us/employment_opportunities/index.php