Obtain legal expertise through Centennial's Court Clerk Training program
Do you have an interest in the court process? Have criminal and other
types of trials always interested you? If so, you may be a good
candidate for the court clerk training
at Centennial College, which is officially known as Court Support
Services. Applicants are required to have completed at minimum an
Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of
age or older. Academic requirements include compulsory English 12 or U,
or skills assessment, or equivalent. Applicants must demonstrate an
acceptable level of English language proficiency in order to be
considered for admission. Applicants whose first language is not
English, and who have studied in an English language school system, for
less than three full years may meet English proficiency requirements by
providing satisfactory results an English Language Proficiency test.
In just two semesters of court clerk training and municipal court training
at Centennial College, students are prepared to enter the field as
either court clerks or court monitors. Professionals are hired by The
Ministry of the Attorney General (Ontario Court of Justice, Ontario
Superior Court of Justice), municipal courts, tribunals and boards,
official examiners, and court reporting services. The responsibilities
of court clerks and court monitors vary in a few ways.
A court
clerk is in charge of preparing dockets or calendars of cases to be
called; recording case dispositions, court orders, and arrangements made
for payment of court fees; preparing documents recording the outcomes
of court proceedings; instructing parties about timing of court
appearances; explaining procedures or forms to parties in cases or to
the general public; swearing in jury members, interpreters, witnesses
and defendants; and more. Meanwhile, the court monitor asks speakers to
clarify inaudible statements; provides transcripts of proceedings upon
request of judges, lawyers, or the public; recording verbatim
proceedings of courts, legislative assemblies, committee meetings, and
other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic
stenograph machines, or stenomasks; transcribes recorded proceedings in
accordance with established formats; and responds to requests during
court sessions to read portions of the proceedings already recorded.
To
ensure that those taking court clerk training and municipal court
training are truly prepared, students of Centennial College are required
to attain a minimum C grade average and an overall minimum GPA of 2.0.
But
how does the court clerk training, which has been approved by the
Ministry of the Attorney General, work? First and foremost, students
master the procedural rules, municipal court training, court reporting
and transcribing as well as specific laws such as family law and
criminal law. Each court clerk training course is taught in a small
class and features the legal and practical hands-on learning, use of
newly upgraded computer labs, simulated courtroom settings, and
practical, career-oriented assignments. The campus also boasts an
assimilated courtroom so court clerk training students can practice
taking an oath and presenting before judges. This is great preparation
for two practical on-the-job experiences that students of court clerk
training partake in.
To round out the learning that takes place
on campus, court clerk training students also take trips to the various
courtrooms and tribunals in order for them to see first-hand exactly how
their career roles work.