Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Lori Schreiber (Image courtesy of Montgomery County)
A second article in our Managing Montco series introducing readers to the elected officials in their county government.
We hope you are both enjoying and learning something from our exploration of Managing Montco. Each day, we aim to take a deeper dive into a role of a department within the county. We want to help you understand who that person is, what they do for the county, and what they can do to help you.
We are breaking down the roles of the nine departments known as “Row Officers.”
What are row officers?
In addition to county commissioners, there are nine total departments considered Row Officers. The name itself came as, many years ago, the nine departments were first listed aligned in “a row” on an election ballot.
Like commissioners, the terms are four-year sessions. Salaries, much like those of other appointed county personnel, is determined by the board of commissioners (with use of the Consumer Price Index). These positions are elected officials, chosen by the people in the county.
Of the nine departments, there are actually ten human heads of them, as the Jury Commissioners consists of two people.
Today, we will take a look at the first (alphabetically) role: the Clerk of Courts.
Who is the Clerk of Courts?
Montgomery County’s current Clerk of Courts is Lori Schreiber. Her offices are in the county’s courthouse, 2 E. Airy St., Second Floor, in Norristown. Like the commissioners, the row officers in Montgomery County, Pa. were sworn in on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. The four-year term began at that time.
Another election will not be held until the fall of 2027, with roles beginning in January of 2028. Should any person fail to qualify for the role they are elected into, or if they cannot continue their position through the full four-year term, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has outlined any necessary replacement nominations necessary.
The law provides that a “second in command,” such as a first assistant or first deputy, take over immediate day-to-day responsibilities. Generally, the hope is to replace that position with the next available election cycle, thought the very specific legal allowances are outlined in a Section 409 of Article IV, under “a. General Provisions.”
What does the Clerk of Courts do?
The Clerk of Courts has three main areas of service:
Though the name implies any courts, the Clerk of Courts is the clerk of the criminal courts. They retain custody of all original cases within the county. The office maintains a digital index and docket. Withing the system, a record is kept of all documents filed in all cases. In laymen’s terms, a Clerk of Courts is a leader of the massive task of organizing, filing, and making accessible all documents criminal courts need at each and every step of the legal process. That’s a lot of paperwork (thankfully now digitally stored).
The Clerk of Courts also handles court costs and restitutions, which are assessed and collected for each case. Court-related costs are then distributed in accordance with the law to divide funds to municipal, count, and state offices or restitution victims.
Additionally, the Clerk of Courts handles bail monies. The office collects bail money and is also responsible for its return to the surety upon completion of required court actions.
Criminal court documents aren’t the only kind, however, that the Clerk of Courts must handle. This role also must maintain any miscellaneous records and dockets that relate to the Division of Election Districts, the appointment of election officials, constables, and even the county’s private detectives.
Why might I need a Clerk of Courts?
Assuming you’re not involved in a criminal court case (at which point Schreiber and her office would be handling all of your documents, not to mention any bail you may need), you can utilize the office’s services in order to obtain public access to records. Case information is available through this office, and Schreiber is the head of that department. Any person may come into the office during its normal business hours to view public documents. Additionally, they are stored online for easier access by the public.
With the modernization of document storing, filing, and supplying, court filings can also be submitted online now via the “PAC File” system. To access that system, you can click here. Tasks like adding documents, understanding costs, or obtaining case information is now accessible with the touch of a button from any online device.
While the Clerk of Courts is responsible for the storing and filing of such documents, they are not the party responsible for document distribution. All filer’s must take on that responsibility on their own, ensuring they have served all interested parties and the assigned judge as instructed. The PAC Filing system on a case will not notify the court that a filing has occurred by itself.
To learn more about the Clerk of Courts, and their specific role, Schreiber’s offices maintain a video on Facebook, linked here.
To reach the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts, call 610-278-3346. The office is open on weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
