Most Recent Revision: 2022
Edition: 13th
Length: 422 pages
Binding: Spiral bound with tabs
Download at no cost: Here
Many of today’s court clerks will no doubt be surprised by this statement, but once upon a time there was no organized training available for municipal court clerks. In those days, there was no regional clerk seminar, no court clerk certification, and no single guide for municipal court practice. This changed more than 20 years ago when TMCEC, with a committed group of court clerks and judges, embraced the idea that it was not only judges that needed access to continuing education. Individuals like Margaret Robbins, the first Clerk Program Director for TMCEC, led the effort to provide guidance to court clerks at a time when even judicial education was still developing. The result of these efforts included the original edition of the book that you now have in your hands.
This book is one of the oldest continuous publications offered by TMCEC. The Guide predates the Judge’s Book, predates the Green Book, and (just barely) even predates the Certification Program itself. In the early days, the Guide was solely tied to the Certification Program. Attend a test review session and you could get a copy of the Guide in a 3-ring binder. Traces of this remain, as the Guide is still known informally as the “Study Guide.” In fact, up to 2013, the title on the cover still read, a bit cryptically, “Municipal Court Clerk Certification Program: Level I.” The group that created the original Guide, of course, knew what they were doing. This book is easily the most important single resource for preparing to take the certification test. Times have changed, though, and while it remains primarily a study tool, the Guide is also used as quick reference or as a knowledge base by court clerks, judges and prosecutors across Texas. The perception of the court clerk has changed as well. More and more cities are looking at the court clerk as a court professional. Professionals deserve a professional publication that guides them, not only to pass a test, but also to gain a level of understanding of municipal court that is expected of a professional. Looking back at the progression of editions, the development and professionalization of court clerk education is obvious. From the first edition in a 3-ring binder, to the ninth edition as a collection of loose leaf papers topped by a cardboard blue cover, to the penultimate tenth edition with actual spiral binding, the Guide has evolved with the development of court clerk education.
Tabs:
- Overview of the Courts
- Role of the Clerk
- Court Ethics
- Charging and Pre-Trial
- Trial Process and Procedure
- Post-Trial Procedure
- State Reporting and Court Costs
- Traffic Law
- Professionalism and Communication
- Appendix