Handbook for County Court Clerks of Oklahoma September 2007 Published by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma Edited by the Association of County Court Clerks’ Handbook Review Committee, the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service at Oklahoma State University, the Office of the State Auditor and Inspector, and the Administrative Office of the Courts. This is a major revision of the 2000 Handbook for County Court Clerks of Oklahoma. Revisions have been made that reflect changes in Oklahoma law since the 2000 version was produced. This Compact Disc (CD) also contains the Handbook for County Clerks of Oklahoma, the Purchasing Handbook for Oklahoma Counties, the Handbook for County Commissioneers of Oklahoma, the Handbook for County Treasurers of Oklahoma, the Handbook for County Assessors of Oklahoma, the County Treasurers Forms document, and the County Clerk and Purchasing Forms document. Funding for this revision was provided by the Commission on County Government Personnel Education and Training through the Office of the State Auditor and Inspector. The Office of the State Auditor and Inspector is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily subscribe to any of the contents or conclusions that appear in this document. This handbook was prepared by the Cooperative Extension Service of Oklahoma State University. The handbook CD was produced at a cost of $1.00 per CD. © 2007 Oklahoma State University All rights reserved. Cover Photos: Clockwise from upper left: Sandy Stroud, Bryan County Court Clerk; Nancy Louthan, Dewey County Court Clerk; Rhonda Hall, Cleveland County Court Clerk; and Jenny Hopkins, Woodward County Court Clerk, at a handbook review meeting. Vicki Justus, McCurtain County Court Clerk, receiving her certificate from Karin Ragsdale, Court Clerk instructor in the County Training Program at OSU. Tammy Reeves, Administrative Office of the Courts, and Brenda Warren, Office of the State Auditor and Inspector, at a handbook review meeting. Tena Arganbright, Washita County Court Clerk; Sue Wells, Wagoner County Court Clerk; and Dee Ray, Canadian County Court Clerk, at a handbook review meeting. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FOR THE 2007 EDITION So many have given of their time and expertise to help revise the Court Clerk Handbook. This revision would not have been possible without the assistance of these individuals. The whole process made me appreciate the handbook and what all it takes to revise it even more. I really appreciate Judy Rudin for all the hard work she has put into the handbook. She has been invaluable to the court clerks and the handbook process. We are fortunate to have Judy heading this up for us. This association is truly indebted to Judy. She put in hundreds of hours on the technical end of this. THANKS JUDY! The following Court Clerk Executive Board Members gave of their time and traveled many miles and stayed for long hours to help with this process. This they did on top of reviewing chapters on their own, which entails looking up many statutes and spending many hours reading. Tena Arganbright, Washita County Dee Ray, Canadian County Geneece Cook, Roger Mills County Rhonda Hall, Cleveland County Sue Wells, Wagoner County Nancy Louthan, Dewey County Sandy Stroud, Bryan County Sandy Stroud, Bryan County Tim Rhodes, Chief Deputy from Oklahoma County, was in attendance at many meetings, and traveled many miles also. Tim was excellent help with looking up and explaining the statutes. We really appreciated his assistance. I thank Patricia Presley for allowing Tim to help in this process. Tammy Reaves, Brenda Warren, and Karin Ragsdale were also in attendance at these meetings. They all traveled many miles to help us with the revisions. Tammy’s help with her laptop was crucial to the process. She saved us a lot of time with her computer skills besides helping review chapters. Brenda’s help and expertise was a lifesaver to us. She also helped by reviewing chapters. Karin’s knowledge of the process was invaluable to us, and she too had chapters to review. Kudos to Tammy, Brenda and Karin! Also, thanks to Patricia Presley and Karen Volino for their help in reviewing their chapters for the handbook. Their contribution was essential to the process. In addition Julie Rorie and Terri Calloway provided crucial assistance to Brenda and Tammy. They helped a lot behind the scenes. Terri also reviewed the Law Library chapter for us. Michael Richie was most helpful to Karin Ragsdale in reviewing her chapters. It’s so nice to know that so many have helped us so willingly. Thanks Julie, Terri and Michael! Last but not least we also want to acknowledge and thank Notie Lansford, Program Leader for the County Training Program at OSU for all his work on the revisions and his continued support for the revision process. What would we do without the OSU County Training Program? I believe this revised edition of the Handbook will prove to be a very beneficial tool for the Oklahoma Court Clerks. Jenny Hopkins, President Oklahoma Court Clerk’s Association This page intentionally left blank. Handbook for Court Clerks of Oklahoma Table of Contents Quick-Reference Chapter Index Chapter General Duties of the Court Clerk............................................................................................................. 8 Duties of the Court Clerk: Appeals..................................................................................................................................................... 20 Civil Cases .............................................................................................................................................. 24 Confidential Cases Adoption........................................................................................................................................... 28 Juvenile.............................................................................................................................................. 29 Mental Health and Substance Abuse............................................................................................ 30 Courtroom and Legal Proceedings...................................................................................................... 18 Criminal Cases........................................................................................................................................ 22 Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce Cases) ........................................................................................... 25 Domestic Abuse Cases.......................................................................................................................... 27 Drug Court ................................................................................................................................. 33 Fees........................................................................................................................................................... 11 Finances................................................................................................................................................... 9 Inventory and Purchasing Procedures ................................................................................................ 10 Jury Selection and Procedures.............................................................................................................. 21 Law Library............................................................................................................................................. 15 License Issue and Registration ............................................................................................................. 16 Passports.................................................................................................................................................. 17 Patenity Cases......................................................................................................................................... 26 Post-Judgment Procedures/Garnishments........................................................................................ 19 Probate Cases.......................................................................................................................................... 32 Table of Contents-List of Photos 1 Rev 9/1/2007 Handbook for Court Clerks of Oklahoma Rev 1/31/2000 Quick-Reference Chapter Index (Continued) Chapter Record Keeping and Maintenance....................................................................................................... 12 Record Access and Disposition ........................................................................................................... 13 Reports..................................................................................................................................................... 14 Small Claims Actions............................................................................................................................. 31 Traffic Cases........................................................................................................................................... 23 Office of the Court Clerk ............................................................................................................................ 7 Oklahoma County Accounting System...................................................................................................... 4 Oklahoma County Budget Process ...........................................................................................................