What Does the Clerk Do?
Unless you conduct regular business with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and/or are a regular visitor or client of the Clerk’s Office, you may not know what your Clerk of the Circuit Court does in local government and in the Loudoun County court system.
In fact, many residents do not know there are three courts in Loudoun County which include the Juvenile and Domestic Court, the General District Court, and the Circuit Court. My duties and responsibilities lie only with the Circuit Court as the other two courts have clerks of court that oversee the operations of those respective courts. Your Clerk of the Circuit Court must have very unique and relevant experience in judicial administration, high-level business management experience to prudently oversee the operations of a highly complex organization, and significant executive leadership experience with the complex and sophisticated duties in the Clerk’s Office.
With more than 35 years of experience with circuit court operations and proven leadership of a dynamic government agency in a fast-growing jurisdiction, I am honored to serve Loudoun County as the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Below is a brief synopsis of the various diverse, significant, and important duties of the Clerk of the Circuit Court. It is truly an honor to serve Loudoun County and all residents as your Clerk of the Circuit Court.
- Gary M. Clemens, Clerk of the Circuit Court
Duties of the Clerk of the Circuit Court
Judicial Services
The Clerk provides direct administrative support to the judges in court proceedings and prepares many legal documents for the court such as criminal court orders, summonses, indictments, authorizations for arrest, and other judicial directives. The Clerk assembles jurors to sit for a jury trial in the circuit court and provides an orientation to prepare jurors for the courtroom proceedings.
Jury Management
The Clerk manages jury operations and is responsible for issuing juror questionnaires to establish a qualified jury pool, issuing jury summons for jury trials, preparing jury lists, providing a comprehensive juror orientation, and coordinating the needs of citizens who report for jury duty.
Land Records
The Clerk is responsible for collecting the taxes associated with the legal recordation of deeds. The Clerk is responsible for retaining all deeds and land records recorded since the inception of the county to provide adequate public access to these records. Research of deeds is available via remote access subscription service for businesses and individuals who customarily research deeds and records.
Probate and Fiduciary
The Clerk acts as a probate judge when a last will and testament is presented for legal probate of an estate. The Clerk ensures the authentication of the will, conducts a legal hearing with witnesses, appoints an executor of a decedent’s estate, and prepares all legal documents related to the estate. The Clerk is also responsible for the qualification of guardians for minors or incapacitated adults.
Custodian of Court Cases
The Clerk is the official recordkeeper of all circuit court cases which include contract disputes, claims of negligence, criminal cases, divorce proceedings, land disputes, adoptions, requests for name changes, court judgments, and many other types of court cases. Under Virginia law, the Clerk is responsible for providing public access to most court files.
Business Services
The Clerk is responsible for issuing marriage licenses in Virginia and processing notary public commissions for citizens in a county/city. The Clerk issues concealed handgun permits as authorized by the Court, and administers the oath of public office to elected officials, sheriff deputies, and citizens who are appointed to local or state commissions or committees. In most jurisdictions, military discharge papers, referred to as the DD-214, are filed with the Clerk.
Custodian of Historic Records
The Clerk of the Circuit Court possesses a wealth of historical records dating back to 1757 that are available for public inspection. These historic records require constant protection and preservation work to ensure these valuable records remain in existence for future generations. The Va. General Assembly created a special grants preservation program that allows Clerks to use state grant funding to perform preservation and conservation work to restore and protect Virginia’s valuable history. Your Loudoun Clerk has aggressively secured state grant funding for local restoration and preservation of these records.
Authorized by Friends of Gary Clemens