Cameron County

District Clerk Duties

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Aurora De La Garza

Civil Department
The District Clerk receives for filing and processing all documents in a court case. The Clerk maintains the official court records and must:

Mark the exact date and time of receipt.
Issue papers during the life of a case and for many years after a case is final. For example: subpoenas, notices, citations, writs, temporary restraining orders, executions, abstracts of judgement, orders of sale, protective orders, etc.
Prepares transcripts or proceedings for appeals and writs of Habeas Corpus
Responsible for the processing of Juvenile Cases (about 700 Juvenile Cases are filed annually).
Files all Dependent and Neglected cases initiated by Child Protective Services which are confidential and require special attention.

Criminal Department
The District Clerk receives indictments from the Grand Jury for processing.

Assignment of court and preparation of files.
Issues capias (warrants for arrest).
Issues warrants for executions in capital murder cases (death penalty cases).
Processes approximately 2,000 criminal cases annually.
Issues various reports to agencies, such as The Texas Department of Public Safety, Election and Voter Registration, Texas Judicial Council.
Prepares appeals to the Court of Appeals.
Finalizes all cases, prepare final packets for T.D.C.J (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

Financial Officer
The District Clerk is responsible for collecting and disbursing court costs, fines and other fees that benefit more than 20 agencies at the state and local level including:

Child support payments.
The court registry fund which manages money in court disputes.
Money invested on behalf of minor children and maintained until age 18.
900 investment accounts throughout Cameron County for a total of over $17,000,000.00
Monitoring of the District Clerk's appropriated operation budget.

Jury Manager
The District Clerk is in charge of the jury selection process to:

Randomly select petit and grand jurors from the Voter Registrar's List and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Prequalify 1000 jurors every week
Summons 500 petit jurors every 2 weeks
Summons 60 grand jurors every six months for (3) grand juries.
Assign jurors to panels.
Pay jurors for service.
Act as liason between the jurors, courts and employers.
Select juries for the District Courts, County Courts at law, and Justice of the Peace.

Records Management
Most court records are public information. The District Clerk is responsible for managing records so that they are:

Easily retrieved for public information.
Preserved for permanent storage in archives.
Disposed of according to law.
Maintained as set by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Personnel and Office Manager
The District Clerk is responsible for employing deputy clerks to assist with all of the duties described above. Personnel and Office Management includes:

Hiring.
Setting office policies and procedures.
Assuring compliance with all federal labor and employment laws
Projecting the equipment, space and storage needs for the office.
Public assistance with information about the court system and other government agencies.

Child Support Customer Service
The District Clerk's Office in conjunction with the Texas Attorney General's Office will be providing local customer service to Child Support recipients. Custodial and Non-Custodial Parents are encouraged to call the Child Support Division to update their address, phone number, employment, etc. You can reach the Child Support Office by calling 956-544-0840

Continuing Education
The District Clerk must successfully complete 20 hours of continuing education courses in the performance of duties at least one time in each 12 month period and obtain certification from the County and Distict Clerks' Association of Texas

Passports
The United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular affairs, has designated the Cameron County District Clerk's Office as an Agent for the purpose of accepting applications for passports and administering oaths.

Apply Tuesday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (only 50 numbers will be given per day)

iDocket.com
The District Clerk's Office in conjunction with iDocket.com have made all civil and criminal pending and disposed cases available for viewing on the internet. Case information is updated on a nightly basis and uploaded to the iDocket.com website. For more information on this partnership contact the District Clerk's Office at (956) 544-0838.