Jury Clerk 
The jury clerk: sends out jury summons to potential jurors, works with jurors requests for postponements 
of jury service, coordinates with the scheduling clerk to make sure enough potential jurors show up at the 
courthouse each day there is a trial, schedules enough grand jurors to fill all the necessary grand jury panels, 
arranges payment to jurors for their jury service, and arranges lodging and meals for jurors in the rare event 
of jury sequestration. 
Court Clerks and Staff 
Court structure varies from the courthouse to courthouse, but frequently court staff is divided into units. 
For example, staff may be assigned to work in the criminal unit, the civil unit, the traffic unit, the small 
claims unit, the juvenile unit, the family unit, or the probate unit.  In smaller communities, there may be 
just a few court clerks who “do it all”. With the trend towards specialized courts (drug courts, mental health 
courts, domestic violence courts, and veteran courts), staff may specialize in and/or rotate in and out of the 
various units. Court staff are expected to have a vast knowledge of myriad local court rules and protocols, 
statutes, and administrative rules that govern filing processes, filing fees, filing timelines, accounting, record 
maintenance, as well as a knowledge of general office practices such as ordering supplies, mastering office 
machinery, and ensuring that safety protocol is established and followed. Recently, many courts have 
transitioned to electronic filing of all documents, usually managed through a centralized state court system. 
This transition presents challenges to court staff as they learn the new filing software, keep up with new 
filings, and archive the past court documents. 
Release Assistance Officers 
Release assistance officers (RAO) are court employees who meet with defendants at the jail to gather 
information to pass on to the judge who makes release decisions. Release assistance officers make their 
recommendations based on the defendant’s likelihood of reappearance and other considerations specified 
by statute or local rules. In determining whether the defendant is likely to reappear, the RAO considers: 
the defendant’s ties to the community, the defendant’s prior record of failures to appear, the defendant’s 
employment history, whether the defendant lives in the community, the nature and seriousness of the 
charges, and any potential threat the defendant may present to the community. 
The availability of space at the jail may also play a role in whether an individual is released. Court and jail 
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