Spencer Issues Response to Judges’ Administrative Order
CLEARFIELD – Clearfield County Judges Fredric J. Ammerman and Paul E. Cherry filed an administrative order today setting strict deadlines for Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts Brian K. Spencer to complete criminal paperwork.
The judges previously provided Spencer with “numerous” notifications as to deficiencies and an unacceptable backlog in the filing, docketing, scanning and processing of orders and documents within the clerk’s office, according to the order.
The judges said that they have also provided Spencer with the opportunity to present a plan to the court that would address the ongoing problems in the clerk’s office, and he has failed and refused to do so.
The judges ordered for all orders and filings within the clerk’s office to be completed within the time periods set forth.
They said failure to comply with their administrative order’s provisions will result in contempt proceedings and hearings before the court.
In order to assure and demonstrate compliance with the administrative order by the clerk’s office, the judges said a copy of all orders or documents delivered to the clerk’s office for filing must be immediately date and time stamped in order to evidence their receipt.
According to the order, all outstanding filing, scanning, docketing and distribution of any orders, dispositions and documents, which haven’t been completed prior to the administrative order, must be fully processed and distributed within 10 work days.
All orders directing the issuance of a bench warrant and issuance of the bench warrant itself must be fully processed and distributed within 24 hours from the time of receipt by the clerk’s office. Excluded from the 24-hour deadline will be all weekends and holidays.
All ARD and DUI orders or other dispositions from ARD and Dui cases must be fully processed and distributed within 10 calendar days of the date of issuance of the order or disposition.
All orders or dispositions that involve a period of state incarceration must be filed immediately upon receipt by the clerk’s office with three certified copies being immediately provided to a representative of court administration.
Within 48 hours from time of delivery to the clerk’s office, these orders, dispositions or other documents must be fully processed and distributed, including but not limited to the entry of all information necessary for the printing of DC-300B, such that individual state packets necessary for transport might be completed.
All other sentencing orders and dispositions must be fully processed and distributed within five work days from the time of receipt by the clerk’s office.
All juvenile orders and dispositions must be fully processed and distributed within five work days from the time of receipt by the clerk’s office.
All dependency, motions court and indirect criminal contempt orders and dispositions must also be fully processed and distributed within five work days from the time of receipt by the clerk’s office.
All notices of appeal from summary conviction must be filed, fully processed and distributed immediately upon receipt by the clerk’s office.
All summary appeal orders and dispositions must be fully processed and distributed within five work days from the time of receipt by the clerk’s office.
Bail orders must be fully processed and distributed immediately upon receipt by the clerk’s office.
All notices of appeal and appeal-related documents must be fully processed, distributed immediately and completed upon receipt.
The clerk’s office must provide the appropriate judge a copy of all communications and orders received by the clerk’s office from the Appellate Court.
Probation/parole and Clearfield County Jail orders and other documents must be fully processed and distributed within five work days from the time of receipt.
AOPC Statistics Docket Corrections must be fully processed and completed within 10 work days from the time of receipt by the clerk’s office.
The judges ordered that all other documents filed in the clerk’s office – not specifically covered by the administrative order – must be fully processed and distributed within 10 work days.
Spencer has issued a statement that read in part:
“… The Clerk of Courts office received an Administrative Order from President Judge Fredric Ammerman regarding new guidelines for timelines for filing, docketing and scanning documents.
“The judge is unaware of the extensive filings and does not realize that one clerk may spend an entire day doing only bench warrants, as so happened just recently.
“These are not simple data entry only jobs. Each clerk must make the same three-step process: 1) stamp (file) and certify the copies; 2) enter the data into the database; and 3) scan the document and upload to the imaging processor. These are time consuming procedures that affect the final product.
“The Clerk of Courts Office is being managed efficiently and regardless of these claims is operating at or above levels ever before achieved in Clearfield County.
“I invite any member of the media or public to stop and investigate for themselves. I believe that within short order, the truth will be apparent.
“These guidelines that have now been ordered fall outside the parameters that this office has ever been managed under.
“In spite of these new stringent timelines, the judge has stated that failure to comply shall result in contempt proceedings and hearings before the court.
“As a result, my staff now feels threatened for fear they may be put in jail should we be unable to meet the deadlines.”
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