Job Specification

Purpose of Position :

To act as a Court Clerk and Registrar in all sittings of the Ontario and Superior Courts of Justice by performing pre, post, and in-court clerical work associated with the operation of the Courts, the overall administration of Courts, and assisting the judiciary.

Duties / Responsibilities :

• Preparing and maintaining the courtroom for proceedings by ensuring forms, supplies and equipment are available; collecting and posting dockets, gathering informations and files, along with additional paperwork such as reports and exhibits; following up on missing documentation as necessary;
• Liaising prior to, during, and after court with court staff, judiciary, clients, agency workers, interpreters and other concerned parties, to coordinate and update changes, and provide assistance with courtroom procedures, protocol, and available court services;
• Participating in the jury selection process including challenges for cause, swearing in, polling and receiving verdict from jurors;
• Opening, recessing, and adjourning court; maintaining order and decorum in the courtroom; administering oaths; ensuring security is available or called when required; ensuring courtroom is locked while in session during closed courts; ensuring courtroom is secured during breaks, and at the end of the day, removing the public and locking the room;
• Calling and arraigning accused persons, administering oaths, cautions and elections, recording elections, pleas, names of parties and counsel in Registrar minute book; filing minutes appropriately;
• Liaising regularly with the Trial Coordinator on available court dates, status of cases, continuations, new courts being set up, unusual start times; advising the Trial Coordinator when court needs assistance from another court, or can provide assistance;
• Receiving, marking, and recording all exhibits, and ensuring they are secure until returned to the exhibit room at the end of the court day. Ensuring drugs, weapons or explosive materials are returned to the proper party according to protocol; maintaining the exhibit room and file cards in an orderly fashion, and assisting with the disposal of exhibits at the end of the retention period in accordance with regulations and local protocol;
• Accurately endorsing informations and court dockets with pleas, dispositions, publication bans, reasons for adjournment, various court orders, surcharges, names of parties in attendance, future court dates, and cancellation of future court dates, according to local protocol; highlighting items requiring urgent attention such as the ordering of interpreters, transfers, preparation of restraining orders, and orders with short return dates. Ensuring endorsement sheets are completed appropriately and accurately with required information; referring to the court record for confirmation;
• Obtaining judicial officer's endorsement where required, and ensuring that documentation is properly and accurately completed, including signatures;
• Accurately preparing all legal documents and other paperwork as required by the judicial officer's disposition or direction in accordance with Statutes, Regulations or directives related to the administration of justice, ensuring they are signed, read and distributed pursuant to policy and protocol;
• Accurately completing required statistical data on statistical information sheets as required; entering data into computerized system such as ICON or FRANK;
• Accepting bail monies or property after court office hours, and securing same in accordance with local protocol;
• Amending and signing documents in accordance with delegated statutory signing authority; checking paperwork for accuracy before exercising signing authority
• Preparing, testing and running audio and video equipment in courts such as the WASH, Video Remand and Child Friendly Courts in accordance with manual and local protocol;
• Preparing dockets for Weekend and Statutory Holiday (WASH) Court from information received; pulling local warrants/informations; ensuring documentation received from enforcement agencies is in proper order, and if not, contacting enforcement agency to correct situation; assisting office staff with faxing remand or release documents to enforcement agencies; returning all required documents to local courts as required;
• Complete all administrative duties that contribute to the progress of cases in the court system from beginning to conclusion;
• Providing assistance and training to others and ongoing technical guidance and assistance regarding court procedures, policies, and protocols;
• Attending training, meetings, courses and conferences as required by manager or designee;
• Providing recommendations to the Supervisor, regarding changes to procedures and protocol which would improve service to the courts;
• Other duties as assigned.

Staffing and Licencing :

Valid Ontario Driver's Licence where required.

Knowledge :

Job requires knowledge of Federal and Provincial legislation such as the Courts of Justice Act, Criminal Code of Canada, Rules of Civil Procedure, Youth Criminal Justice Act, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Food and Drugs Act, Family Law Act, Divorce Act, Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act, and Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, among others, to understand the nature of court proceedings and related legal requirements and processes. Job requires knowledge of court practices, procedures and directives to ensure proper operation of the court; to process and prepare court documents, and to carry out clerical and administrative functions related to the administration of justice. Job requires knowledge of and adherence to quality service standards when dealing with clients on the telephone, in person or by correspondence. Job requires knowledge of personal computer software packages such as MS Word, MS Outlook, Excel, ICON and FRANK in order to prepare court papers and orders, input and access information, and conduct searches. Job requires technical knowledge of the use of audio and video equipment in order to ensure the smooth operation of the court.

Skills :

Job requires oral communication skills to effectively and professionally liaise with the judiciary, counsel, parties, police, agency and court staff. Job requires oral communication skills when explaining and discussing requirements and/or arrangements and sequence of events in court, obtaining additional information post-court, and in responding to queries. Job requires oral communication skills when addressing the public, e.g. opening, recessing or adjourning the court and placing cases before judiciary, arraigning accused, calling witnesses, administering oaths, elections and cautions Job requires written communication skills to record information related to each case presented before the court, e.g. elections, pleas, attendees, instruction/requests from judiciary follow-up action/information required e.g. pre-sentence reports, remand, papers, probation orders. Job requires ensuring that all people involved e.g. counsel, parties, crown attorneys, are present or accounted for by speaking to clients before court to ascertain names and checking that they are present, as well as ensuring witness exclusions. Job requires locating and retrieving documents and/or parties by following up with counsel, medical profession, police, agency and ministry staff. Job requires flexibility and willingness to adapt to and work effectively within protocols and procedures, while prioritizing actions effectively to respond to numerous and diverse challenges and demands such as parties not appearing, last minute settlements, requests for adjournments and anticipating consequent adjustments in court schedules, case sequence and arrangement of files and exhibits. Job requires judgment to maintain the decorum of the courtroom, respecting the OPS business agenda and the dignity of the justice system. Job requires organizational skills to prioritize and plan work effectively in a high-volume, fast-paced environment such as first appearance court, Weekend and Statutory Holiday Court, and bail court. Job requires accurate keyboarding skills in order to prepare documentation on a computer terminal. Job requires listening skills in order to ensure that endorsements are captured verbatim. Job requires analytical skills to determine whether paperwork has been completed in accordance with legal requirements and judicial endorsements.

Freedom of Action :

Job requires working within established legislation, directives, policies and protocols. Job requires working at the direction of the judicial officer in court. Job requires exercising authorized delegated statutory signing authority on legal documents in accordance with the legislation, such as Warrants, Probation Orders and Default Judgements. Signed documents with inaccurate information could have serious legal repercussions e.g. wrongful in custody or release, and suspensions of license not appropriate. Job requires determining own work priorities and resolving most work-related problems or issues independently. Job requires the ability to work co-operatively and collaboratively within a team environment. Job requires independently organizing Weekend and Statutory Holiday Court. Job requires referring to Supervisor unusual or contentious matters such as disputes with protocol, difficult clients, or unusual situations. Job is subject to review of accuracy of preparation of documents by Group Leader or Supervisor.