The Quarterly Filing Count and the Copy Request
Quarterly statistics are due to the state court administrator on Friday. For the second quarter (April 1–June 30) you must report new civil filings. The paper intake log shows case numbers CV-25-04120 through CV-25-04195 issued during the quarter - 76 numbers. Your notes record: three numbers were voided and reissued after a filing was mistakenly accepted twice (each voided number and its replacement cover one filing); two numbers appear twice in the log because of a double keyboard entry; one number was issued for a complaint rejected for nonpayment of the filing fee and never refiled; and one number was assigned to a 2019 case that was reopened, which the log lists as new. The case management system reports 68 new civil filings for the quarter. Later that day an attorney requests three certified copies of a 12-page judgment and 40 pages of ordinary copies. The fee schedule is $0.50 per page for copies and $5.00 per document certified, payable before release.
1. Reconcile the intake log to a single figure, then decide what number you report given the mismatch with the case management system.
Read the worked answer
Start at 76 and remove each documented duplicate or non-filing:
- 76 − 3 (voided/reissued pairs) = 73
- 73 − 2 (double keyboard entries) = 71
- 71 − 1 (rejected, never refiled) = 70
- 70 − 1 (2019 reopening, not a new filing) = 69
So the log supports 69; the system shows 68. Before reporting, look for the one-case explanation that is a timing artifact: a complaint received June 30 after the intake cutoff but entered July 1 would sit in the log and not in the system's quarter. That converts a suspected error into a known cut-off rule. If it cannot be located, report 69 with a footnote showing the reconciliation and the one-case variance, and refer it to your supervisor and IT. Do not silently change 69 to 68 or 68 to 69 to make the report look clean - an unreconciled figure that is disclosed and explained is a clerical issue; a figure adjusted to match is a falsified report.
2. Compute the total fee for the copy request and describe the release procedure.
Read the worked answer
Certified copies: 12 pages × $0.50 = $6.00 per copy, plus $5.00 certification = $11.00 each. Three copies: 3 × $11.00 = $33.00. Ordinary copies: 40 × $0.50 = $20.00. Total: $33.00 + $20.00 = $53.00.
Procedure: quote the total before copying; collect payment and issue a receipt showing the breakdown (pages, certifications, total) so the fee is auditable; prepare the certified copies from the court's original, not from a copy the attorney supplies; each certificate is signed by the authorized clerk and sealed, and the certification page is part of the document it certifies. Release only after payment clears - for a mailed request with a personal check, that means waiting for funds, not dropping the envelope in the mail the same day. Record the request in the copy log with date, case number, page count, and receipt number.
Watch the arithmetic trap: $5.00 is charged per document certified, so three certifications of one judgment are $15.00 in certification fees, not $5.00, and the 12 pages are charged once per copy, not once overall.
3. You notice the plaintiff in one new case is entered as "Katherine R. Solis" with a 1979 date of birth, but the complaint says "Catherine R. Solis," born 1974. What do you do, and why not simply type over the existing entry?
Read the worked answer
Correct by addition, not by overwriting. Overwriting erases the fact that a discrepancy existed and when it was fixed; if a warrant, a garnishment, or a judgment later attaches to the wrong person, the audit trail is the only thing that shows who did what.
Steps: (1) compare the complaint, the summons, and any identification in the file to determine the correct spelling and date of birth from the source document, not from memory; (2) add the alternate spelling as an alias/AKA and record the corrected date of birth in the correct field, leaving the original value visible in the history; (3) enter a docket note - "party name and DOB corrected per complaint filed [date]; alias added" - with your user ID and the date; (4) notify your supervisor if the error already propagated to a summons, a service record, or a judgment; (5) inform the filing party in neutral language if the caption itself must be amended, since amending a caption is a party's act, not the clerk's.
The distinction to hold onto: the clerk may correct a transcription error; the clerk may not decide which name is legally correct where the parties dispute it.