The McDonald County Circuit Clerk's office handles all the documentation for the courts, as well as having a few other duties.
"Everything that goes to court, we take care of it, from filing to disposition," said Tanya Lewis, McDonald County Circuit Clerk. She said the office handles cases as simple as traffic cases such as no seat belt to criminal cases such as murder trials, and civil cases from small claims to multi-million dollar lawsuits. The office handles probate -- any time someone dies or a minor gets a settlement or an adult needs a guardian or conservator. It handles juvenile cases, including when a child has been abused or commits a crime.
Also, any time a resident receives a jury qualification notice, that comes from the circuit clerk's office, she said.
The office is also a passport acceptance agent, so residents may go there rather than a passport agency.
"Video conferencing has changed the way we do court a lot. We have done more over the past two years," she said. "Now that we're back to normal procedures, we still do some video, but not a lot."
She said there are always some law changes to learn. Court costs changed this year. The county used to assess a sheriff's retirement fund surcharge, but a higher court ruled that the county could not do that anymore, so it took $3 off court costs.
Orders of protection also changed. They have been good for a year and could be extended for another year. The change was that they can be extended for up to 10 years or the life of the person they are filed against.
Lewis said the courthouse has gone back and forth on requiring masks.
"Opening up last year was a big deal in September" after being closed for a time due to the covid-19 pandemic, she said.
Her staff includes seven full-time clerks, one part-time clerk, two bailiffs and the victim advocate. She has been with the court 28 years and has been circuit clerk since 2019.
"I still learn something new just about every day," she said. "You never know what's going to come up."