Clerk

The Clerk administers the official court records for all court cases with jurisdiction in that county.

• Criminal cases include felonies, misdemeanors, miscellaneous criminals.
• Traffic cases are comprised of infractions, local ordinance violations and exempted ordinance violations
• Civil cases include torts, civil plenary cases, protective orders, miscellaneous civil, reciprocal support, small claims, domestic relations,  mental health, adoption, supervised and unsupervised estates, guardianships, trusts, children in need of services (CHINS), juvenile delinquency, juvenile status, juvenile miscellaneous and juvenile paternity.

The Clerk prepares the Court’s permanent historical records.

• The Record of Judgments and Orders serves as the historical record of the court’s verbatim orders.
• The Judgment Docket is used by abstract companies to show liens against real estate, and information is also recorded by credit companies to provide assistance to those who lend money to individuals and entities.
• The Chronological Case Summary serves as the sequential record of the judicial events in a case.
• Indexes are vital records for locating cases and conducting criminal or civil record searches concerning individuals or entities.

The Clerk also:

• Performs marriage ceremonies; processes marriage applications and issues marriage licenses.
• Registers bail agents
• Records judgments including State income and unemployment tax warrants, bonds of numerous public officials, and other miscellaneous records.

The Clerk processes and issues documents for court cases:

• Civil documents include summons, subpoenas, garnishment orders, proceedings supplemental, writs of execution or attachment, orders of sale, body attachments, protective orders, notice of claim, contempt citations, orders to appear.
• Criminal documents include arrest warrants; change, release and forfeiture of bond forms; bondsman ordered to produce notification; and transport orders.
• Probate documents include publications for newspapers regarding the opening and closing of estates, notification of heirs, wills, inventories, and final reports.
• Record of Proceedings for appeal to the Appellate and Supreme Courts are prepared and/or approved.

The Clerk collects, distributes and reconciles monies related to court cases and is subject to regular audits by State Board of Accounts.

• Reports are filed with appropriate agencies including the Auditor, Treasurer, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Indiana State Child Support Division, State Treasurer, etc.
• Court costs, judgment money and many other fees are collected on civil cases.
• The Clerk collects fees and fines for deferral and pre-trial diversion fees, and extradition and restitution fees for criminal misdemeanor and infraction cases.
• User fees for special interest groups include: Conservation Officers Fish and Wildlife Fund, Public Defender Fee, Marijuana Eradication Program Fee, Alcohol and Drug Services Program User Fee, Law Enforcement Continuing Education Fee, Drug Abuse Prosecution Interdiction and Correction Fee, Alcohol Abuse Deterrent Program and/or Medical Fee, Alcohol and Drug Countermeasures Fee, Child Abuse Prevention Fee, Domestic Violence Prevention and
• Accepts cash payments for child support and Title IV D case processing generates incentive monies to counties.