TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Showdown at courthouse over clerk duties

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2009

A feud is brewing at the courthouse. It has little to do with the administration of justice and everything to do about money. In particular, the money collected by the Clerks of Court. The clerks have money; the judges want it.

Florida's government, much like the federal government, is predicated on three equal branches. The three-legged stool in which the entire system fails if any one branch fails is perhaps the most often cited analogy. Government has its system of checks and balances to ensure that no one branch dominates over the other two. The judiciary has the constitutional authority to invalidate any law that violates the constitution. This prevents the legislature from becoming totalitarian in nature.

The legislative branch, on the other hand, controls the budget. As has happened in the past, the legislative branch can reduce the judiciary's budget if lawmakers believe the judiciary is overstepping its bounds. Although the judiciary is an equal branch of government, it receives less than one percent of the state budget.

The clerks of court are financially self-sustaining. That is, the clerk's are funded by the filing fees, fines and other revenue sources under their control. The fees charged by the clerks, which have risen dramatically in the past few years, and where those fees go are controlled by the Legislature as set forth in Florida's statutes and, yes, the Legislature gets its cut of the money. Each county has its duly elected clerk of court. In Pasco, the clerk is Paula O'Neil who was recently elected to replace Jed Pittman. The clerk of court is a constitutional officer and also serves as the county comptroller.
Senate Bill 2108 and its companion, House Bill 1121, would move much of the clerk of court's duties - and most importantly the associated revenue - under the judiciary. The bills state that the goal is to enable greater access to justice and bring appropriate efficiencies to the administration of justice. "Administration of justice" is often cited as a basis for change, although the details of how the clerk legislation would accomplish this goal are fuzzy at best. What is clear is that it would provide judicial access to the revenue source now enjoyed by the clerks of court.

The legislation provides that beginning in the 2010 fiscal year, the Legislature would designate up to five judicial circuits in which court-related services now performed by the clerks of court would be transferred to the state courts system. Those activities include case maintenance, records management, attendance at judicial proceedings, collecting and distribution of fines, fees and service charges - that is, the money - processing jurors and data collection. Many employees of the Clerk of Court would become state employees.

The legislation also reallocates the distribution of the revenue now collected by the clerks of court and it should be expected that filing fees will both continue to rise and that new fees will be initiated.

The way the Legislature is headed, a defendant may well have to pay to file a response to a lawsuit. That is, the defendant will get to pay the government for the privilege of being sued. The Legislature has already imposed filing fees, where none previously existed, such as in the case where a defendant files a counterclaim against the plaintiff.

Randall Love is an attorney with Randall J. Love & Associates, New Port Richey, and practices in the areas of employment law, commercial and real estate litigation, personal injury and probate litigation. He is a certified Circuit Court mediator.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT