Court Specialist

Clerk Of The Circuit Court Position

Employees at this level perform specialized court functions such as clerical, customer service, fiscal and record-keeping work related to the business operations of the court division. Employees undertake a wide range of duties and are required to be cross trained to learn and fulfill the requirements of more than one job. Work is performed in accordance with established rules, policies, and statutes. All employees must be able to attend court and satisfactorily perform the tasks associated with the assigned proceeding. All employees must be able to assist at the counter and answer the court designated phone calls.

Essential Job Functions

The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of the duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification. Other duties may be required and assigned.

• Participate in and successfully complete all introductory court learning curriculum for each business unit in the Courts Division.
• Provide excellent customer service to internal and external customers. Customer base consists of the public, local and state governmental and judicial agencies, attorneys, and employees of the Clerk's Office.
• Provide information to the public about the Clerk's programs and services; answer customer questions at the counter and over the telephone.
• Work under pressure with specific timelines and mandated state and/or agency standard.
• Work independently in the absence of supervision.
• Organize, plan, and prioritize work.
• Open new cases in the case maintenance system.
• Receive, review, and process court documents in the case maintenance system through e-filing and the mail.
• Ability to tolerate exposure to evidence and testimony, such as photographs of crime scenes and victims; evidence may include syringes, drugs, weapons, blood and unpleasant odors, sexually explicit materials, defendants, and witnesses who may potentially be verbally offensive.
• Swear in witnesses in the courtroom and customers at the counter.
• Perform basic cashiering functions for processing various payments for fees, fines, and charges assessed.
• Balance daily receipts to monies received and perform bank deposit activities as assigned.
• Process incoming and outgoing mail and make deliveries and pick-ups to other Clerk Office departments and other agencies.
• Back-scan case files into the case maintenance system.
• Prepare documents as required by law and court standards.
• Court Processing: Maintain wills and mortgages. Receive, review, and process more complex court documents in the case maintenance system through e-filing and the mail.
• Court Services: Perform court clerk duties such as accurately record case dispositions, court orders, continuances, costs assessed, mark exhibits and secure evidence in the vault, and prepare court disposition papers for all court proceedings. Perform jury functions such as generating jury pools and jury selection process. Process bail bonds.
• Customer Service: Process child support orders and enter child support cases into the state system. Assist customers through the customer service call center. Assist in the Domestic Violence and Self-Help Center unit as needed.
• Domestic Violence/Self-Help: Assist pro se litigants either filing an action or responding to an action without the assistance of an attorney.
• Other duties as assigned.
• The Collier Clerk's Office values the team building benefits of in-person onsite collaboration. This is an on-site position.

Education and Experience:

• High School Diploma or a GED equivalent, and six months of clerical, customer service, banking, paralegal, criminal justice, or other related work experience. Any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job may be substituted for the education and experience requirement. Some college-level or certificate-type program courses in business, accounting, criminal justice, or paralegal studies preferred.
• Ability to complete all required introductory court learning curriculum for each business unit in the Courts Division.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills:

• Legal documents and their purpose.
• Office procedures, methods, and equipment.
• Cashiering operations, collection documentation, and procedures.
• Clerk's programs, functions, departments, and services to appropriately respond to service requests.
• Clerk's record keeping systems, practices, and procedures.
• Follow Clerk of Courts Rules, Regulations, Policies and Procedures:
  1. Gain and apply knowledge, conform with, and abide by all department rules, regulations, policies, work procedures, and instructions.
  2. Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external customers.
  3. Relate appropriately to persons of diverse ages and backgrounds.
  4. Demonstrate tact, sensitivity, and diplomacy even in stressful situations.
  5. Follow confidentiality and code of ethics policies.
  6. Act, dress, and behave in a professional manner to reflect a positive image of the Clerk's Office.
  7. Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with others, individually and in a team environment.
• Communication Skills (Oral, Writing, Listening, Understanding and Processing):
  1. Use complete English sentences, proper grammar, and paragraphs to correctly organize and convey information.
  2. Communicate in a clear and concise manner both orally and in writing. Speak with clarity and select appropriate words to convey information in a positive manner.
  3. Listen to and understand lengthy questions, complaints, and explanations.
  4. Use words, facial expressions and body language that express empathy and understanding.
  5. Respond promptly when returning telephone calls and replying to correspondence.
  6. Understand and follow oral and written instructions, written sentences, and paragraphs in work related documents.
  7. Verbally communicate with employees, the public and other agencies by telephone and in person.
  8. Write responses to written and verbal requests and correspondence.
  9. Be attentive of ordinary conversation throughout the workday while interacting with customers and fellow employees in person and over the telephone.
  10. Maintain close attention to details. Prepare accurate messages.
• Computer and Office Equipment Skills:
  1. Operate a variety of office equipment including computers with a keyboard, printer, scanner, fax machine, copying machine, telephones, and calculator.
  2. Access, input and retrieve information from a computer at an acceptable rate of speed and accuracy.
  3. Accurately utilize and quickly adapt to department/agency software programs.
  4. Use calculator/numeric keyboard to add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, decimals, and percentages, enter data, and make calculations.
  5. Check and compare information on documents and screens to detect inconsistencies, incompleteness, and errors in transferring information.
• Cash Transaction Skills
  1. Receive payments and make change with accuracy and speed.
  2. Reconcile differences in cash and receipts.
  3. Properly handle and balance cash and financial transactions.
• Other tangible abilities

Data Utilization: Requires the ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data using established criteria. Includes exercising discretion in determining actual or probable consequences and in referencing such evaluation to identify and select alternatives.

Human Interaction: Requires the ability to apply principles of persuasion and/or influence over others in coordinating activities of a project, program, or designated area of responsibility.

Equipment, Machinery, Tools, and Materials Utilization: Requires the ability to operate, maneuver, and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions.

Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, advisory, and/or design data and information.

Mathematical Aptitude: Requires the ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may include ability to perform mathematical operations with fractions; May include ability to compute discount, interest, and ratios; may include ability to calculate surface areas, volumes, weights, and measures.

Functional Reasoning: Requires the ability to apply principles of influence systems, such as motivation, incentive, and leadership, and to exercise independent judgement to apply facts and principles for developing approaches and techniques to resolve problems.