Court Clerk

City-of-Puyallu; Puyallup (WA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Puyallup is seeking a court clerk to support the municipal court. This role involves direct public interaction, processing court documents, and scheduling hearings with careful attention to legal procedures.

Strong organizational skills and accuracy are essential, as is the ability to work with police, attorneys, defendants, and other agencies. JIS experience is preferred, and the position is in-person at the municipal court.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent; two years' experience in a district or municipal court are required/preferred.
• Related education or experience in criminal justice may substitute for the experience requirement.
• Judicial Information System (JIS) experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Process forms, orders and documentation for court cases from origin to final disposition.
• Assist the public and explain court procedures.
• Set cases for hearings including arraignment, pre-trial, trial, mitigation, contested, show cause and motions.
• Prepare court calendars and notify parties related to case by subpoena, summons, officer notice and bonding company notice.
• Process continuance requests and notify involved parties.
• Track cases with continued, suspended or deferred status.
• Maintain warrant control and issue, recalls, processes and purges warrants.
• Maintain time pay accounts and delinquent notices.
• Serve as court clerk while court is in session and record proceedings.

Skills

Customer service

Public relations

Organizational skills

Communication

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

Judicial Information System (JIS)

Job description

The Puyallup Municipal Court is adding to our team! Applicants with strong customer service skills and a desire to serve the Puyallup community are encouraged to apply.

It is impactful to join Team Puyallup and provide meaningful work in support of public service and the wellbeing of our community. We value our culture of demonstrating excellence in our work, being service focused, supporting collaboration, and having integrity in all that we do. We encourage those that share these values to apply to our open positions and/or forward to colleagues who may be ready for their next career advancement opportunity.

The successful candidate will provide technical and clerical work in support of the municipal court. This classification requires public relations involvement, independent judgment and solid organizational skills. This position requires technical expertise in those aspects of the court operation in which consequences of a clerical error would be significant. Personal contact with police, attorneys, defendants, and other agencies in situations where considerable judgment is required. Duties require the ability to read, comprehend and verbally communicate the rules of the court in a clear and concise manner. Duties also require the proficient use of a computer/keyboard to access and input court information.

The City of Puyallup is a community of 44,000 and is situated at the foot of scenic Mount Rainier. The city is known as a regional commercial center, and serves its residents and neighbors with a strong, diversified economy. Our employees live in and support a community that has excellent schools, amazing parks and recreational activities, and a vibrant downtown with a variety of restaurants and retail establishments.

• processes forms, orders and documentation for court cases from origin to final disposition;
• Assists the public and explains court procedures;
• Sets cases for various types of hearings including arraignment, pre-trial, trial, mitigation, contested, show cause and motions;
• Prepares court calendars and notifying parties related to case by subpoena, summons, officer notice and bonding company notice;
• Processes continuance requests and notifies parties involved;
• Tracks cases with continued, suspended or deferred status;
• Obtains record checks;
• Reviews compliance and non-compliance reports, sends notices and prepares calendar;
• Maintains warrant control;
• Issues, recalls, processes and purges warrants;
• Maintains failure to appear control;
• Maintains time pay accounts, sends statements and delinquent notices;
• Prepares bench warrants for non-payment or prepares cases for review hearing;
• Tracks prisoners in custody awaiting arraignment, trial or review hearing;
• Maintains jail commitments and follow-up proceedings;
• Serves as court clerk while court is in session and records and documents proceedings;
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Court policies, procedures and practices;
• Legal forms, documents and terminology;
• General office practices and procedures;
• Correct punctuation, spelling, grammar and word usage;
• Operation of personal computer and associated software;
• The Right to Privacy and Public Disclosure laws.

Ability to:

• Process a wide variety of legal forms and documentation;
• Work effectively with defendants and the public providing information regarding court cases and procedures;
• Interact with emotionally distraught, irate and combative individuals;
• Perform basic arithmetic computations and data entry functions accurately;
• Communicate effectively both orally and in writing;
• Read, interpret, apply and explain rules, regulations, polices and procedures;
• Maintain records and prepare reports;
• Effectively work with other employees and/or other departments.

Education and Experience

Any combination equivalent to graduation from high school and two years experience working in a district or municipal court; related education or experience in the criminal justice field may be substituted for the experience requirement.Judicial Informational System (JIS)experience is desired.

Special Qualifications

• Possession of or the ability to obtain, and maintain throughout employment, a valid Washington State driver's license.
• Experience with the Judicial Information System (JIS) is preferred.

Work is performed indoors in an office setting with low noise levels.May be subject to dealing with hostile or irate customers and standing or sitting for long periods of time.Constant demands include sitting, hearing, and seeing.Frequent demands include repetitive hand motion (keyboarding) and talking.Occasional demands include standing, walking, lifting an average of 2 pounds to a maximum of 25 pounds, pushing/pulling (chairs), bending/twisting at the waist, repetitive arm motion, handling/grasping, and fine finger manipulation.

Selection Process

Those applicants whose qualifications most closely correspond to the City's current needs will be contacted for interviews and/or testing. The appointing authority may conduct second interviews.

Notification - Following submission of application, an email acknowledgment receipt of application is given. Persons selected for an interview and/or testing will be notified by email, normally within 15 working days following the closing date on the job announcement.

Not Selected - No formal notification is usually sent by the City to applicants not selected for an interview or test.

General Information

The statements contained herein reflect general details as necessary to describe the principal functions for this job, the level of knowledge, skills and abilities typically required and the scope of responsibility, but should not be considered an all-inclusive listing of work requirements. Individuals may perform other duties as assigned including work in other functional areas to cover absences or relief, to equalize peak work periods, or to balance the workload.

Hours of Work

Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This is an in person Court position.

Union Affiliation

This is an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) bargaining unit position.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The City of Puyallup is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and does not discriminate in any employer/employee relations based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, disability, genetic information, veteran's status or any other basis protected by applicable discrimination laws.

Background

The City of Puyallup will need to obtain the proper background and criminal history information pursuant to RCW 43.43.830/832 for positions where the employee will or may have unsupervised access to children, developmentally delayed persons or vulnerable adults.

Disability

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, disability will be considered only in the context of an applicant's ability to perform essential functions of the job and to determine reasonable accommodation. Accommodation to participate in the job application and/or selection process for employment will be made upon request with reasonable notice. Please contact the Human Resources Department for further information. The physical demands described in this job announcement are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Identification

Applicants who are offered employment with the City are required to provide proof of identity and authorization to work in the United States within three days of date of hire, as required by the 1986 Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act. A list of acceptable documents verifying identity and authorization to work will be provided to those who are offered employment. The City uses E-Verify.

Drug-Free Workplace

The City of Puyallup is a drug-free, tobacco-free workplace.

Note

The provisions of this job announcement do not constitute an expressed or implied contract. Any provision contained herein may be modified and/or revoked without notice.