5/10/2024
2/8/2024
A new issue of THE DOCKET has been published.
PARTNER ASSOCIATION
2/1/2023
We are pleased to announce the Association of Clerks of the District Courts of Virginia has partnered with the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management (MAACM).
9/19/2023
A new issue of THE DOCKET has been published.
9/5/2023
6/23/2023
Congratulations to Ginger Webb, Clerk of Court, Buena Vista Combined Court, on completing the ICM Fellows Program!
CONGRATULATIONS 2023 AWARD RECIPIENTS
DEPUTY CLERK OF THE YEAR:
Anita Gravely – Henry Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
SUPERVISING DEPUTY CLERK OF THE YEAR:
Susan Nicholson – Frederick/Winchester GDC
CLERK OF THE YEAR:
Nora Green – Henry Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD:
Darcie Dunn & Vilay Hok – Fairfax County GDC
CERTIFICATES OF EXCELLENCE:
Alecia Lowe - Chesapeake Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Jacy A. Wynne - Washington Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
Shelane Thompson - Harrisonburg/Rockingham General District Court
Jessica Hall - Botetourt Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Jessie Thomasson - Botetourt Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Alyssa Smith - Spotsylvania Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Mariah Jeffries - Spotsylvania Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Jenn Dziok - Spotsylvania General District Court
Jenna Cancio - Fauquier General District Court
Tina Miller - Fairfax County General District Court
Robin Gardner - Virginia Beach General District Court
Mary Tressa - Fredericksburg General District Court
Nataly Campbell - Fredericksburg General District Court
Dana Page - Danville Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Peggy Carroll - Roanoke County General District Court
Jennifer Hall - Prince William Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Shanna Henry - Warren Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
Cecelia Garner - Richmond City General District Court
Kristie G. Daily - Caroline Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court
05/01/2023
A new issue of THE DOCKET has been published.
A new slate of officers has been sworn in EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2023
Executive Council
PRESIDENT: LAURA HATCH – FREDERICKSBURG GDC
PRESIDENT-ELECT: KELLY WIGGINS - NEW KENT JDR
VICE PRESIDENT: LAUREN JONES- WARREN GDC
SECRETARY-TREASURER: AMY BURNHAM - VIRGINIA BEACH JDR
PAST PRESIDENT: KIMBERLY MCKITTRICK – MONTGOMERY GDC
Regional Representatives
REGION 1: VACANCY
REGION 2: JILL HALL - KING WILLIAM/KING&QUEEN GDC
REGION 3: SHANNON MEADOWCROFT - HENRICO JDR
REGION 4: JULIE DOBSON - FREDERICKSBURG JDR
REGION 5: LINDA MOORE - CHESTERFIELD GDC
REGION 6: SHANNA HENRY - WARREN JDR
REGION 7: DARCIE DUNN - FAIRFAX GDC
REGION 8: GINGER WEBB - BUENA VISTA CMB
REGION 9: NIKKI KING - FLOYD CMB
REGION 10: J. KAREN ALLISON - TAZEWELL JDR
From left to right is Julie East, Margaret Rudinas, Heather Massey, Ashley Schley, Jenna Thompson, and Tiffany Chaffin
Bedford General District Court staff shares the following announcement. Our clerk, Ashley Schley is a breast cancer survivor. For breast cancer awareness month in October, we got her a pink Christmas tree and she decorated it with the names of her survivor friends and pink ribbons.
Ashley writes, “My Breast Cancer Journey began in February 2019 and I was extremely blessed and thankful to be considered cancer free by the end of the year. My very supportive and knowledgeable staff did a fabulous job of making sure our office ran smoothly while I was out for weeks at a time with multiple surgeries.” Congratulations on your cancer-free report Ashley! Thank you to you and your staff for sharing this inspiring and heartwarming story.
10/31/22
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
The 2023 annual meeting and conference will be held in person next year! Look for more information in the Winter issue of The Docket. Please save the date April 3-4, 2023!
7/22/22
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
5/6/22
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
12/1/21
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
9/3/21
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
7/2/21
The new slate of officers has been voted on and approved. New officers for 2021-2022 posted. The 2022 annual meeting and conference will be held in person next year! Look for more information in the November issue of The Docket. Please tentatively hold April 11-12, 2022.
6/25/21
The proposed amendment to the Clerks Association By-Laws has been approved. New By-Laws posted.
5/25/21
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
5/18/21
All district court employees employed as of March 10, 2021, will receive a 5% raise, effective June 10, 2021 (first seen in the July 1, 2021 paycheck). Entry-level salaries will remain the same for those hired after March 10, 2021.
4/22/21
The Employee Recognition Program page has been updated with newly recognized employees.
Region Reps have disseminated $15 per employee to each Clerk of Court in recognition of a job well done during the pandemic.
3/1/21
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
12/9/20
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
8/21/20
The Association sent a letter to the Editor’s of several Virginia newspapers around the Commonwealth. The Association also sent an email with our June 2020 letter attached, to the members of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee and the House Appropriations Committee this week when the Special Session began on Tuesday. Finally, the Association’s Terri Rea sent a letter to the Governor’s Office as well. The content of these communications were to unfreeze the 90 new positions previously authorized by the General Assembly, to underscore the compensation issues we are facing, and to remind the other branches of government that we are essential worker, deserving of recognition.
6/22/20
The Association sent a letter to Virginia’s legislature regarding needs of the district courts.
5/14/20
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
5/9/20
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 9, 2020.
4/7/20
Letter to all district court employees from Rick Kahl, Laura Griffin, and Terri Rea.
3/13/20
The 2020 Clerks Association Annual Meeting and Conference is CANCELLED.
2/7/20
A new issue of The Docket has been published.
The 2020 Clerks Association Annual Meeting and Conference will be held April 6 & 7. The conference will be held in Charlottesville, VA at the DoubleTree by Hilton at 990 Hilton Heights Road. Rooms are available at the conference rate ($119/night+tax) until March 5, 2020. UPDATE (3/13/20) - this event has been cancelled.
12/10/19
News story published by Virginia Public Radio, “Shortage of Clerks at Crisis Level in Virginia's District Courts.”
11/13/19
A new issue of The Docket has been published. The links mentioned in the article titled, “Karl Hade presents district court staffing plight to the House Appropriations Committee” can be found below:
Video (starts around 10:05 mark)
Newport News JDR shared these pictures with us of several events they hosted lately! Looks like tons of fun! Thanks for sharing, Patsy!
10/22/19
You may be interested in this information:
Presentation made by Karl Hade to the House Appropriations Committee, 10/21/19:
http://hac.state.va.us/Committee/files/2019/10-21-19/II%20-%20District%20Court.pdf
Article in the Daily Press, 10/22/19:
Article in the Richmond Times Dispatch, 10/22/19:
9/12/19
Letter from the Virginia State Bar:
8/8/19
A new issue of The Docket has been published!
8/5/19
The Clerks Association has been assisting Planning with the Staffing Model work group. Thanks to over 200 of you, we recorded as many responses regarding how low pay and low staffing levels impact the district courts. As more information is available on this project, we’ll update you.
6/19/19
The Executive Council met Friday, June 14, 2019. We have a need for a new Conference Chair! Please reach out to Laura Griffin, Membership Chair, if you are interested in joining the Association. Association membership and activity is voluntary - we need your help! Please consider joining as a committee chair if you have specialized experience in any area! We also want to make sure our organization is as diverse and inclusive as possible! Due to overwhelming negative feedback, our 2020 annual conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville.
If you have not been approached, the Chief Justice is looking for feedback regarding low staffing levels and low pay. Please reach out to your Region Rep with stories, or contact Laura Griffin for more information.
Clerks - if you need a copy of your new salary listing for your court, please reach out to HR for the SCVHR010 Report. New salaries went into effect June 10, 2019.
5/9/19
The Committee on District Courts met May 8, 2019, and approved the following additional holidays for 2019:
Friday, July 5, 2019
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
4/15/19
The 2019 Clerks Association Annual Meeting and Conference was held April 8 & 9. The following information was announced by Mr. Hade regarding compensation adjustments for 2019:
There will be a 2.75% across the board COLA increase effective June 10, 2019, for all state employees hired by March 10, 2019. You will see it first in your July 1, 2019 paycheck.
There will be an additional 2.25% merit increase effective June 10, 2019, for all state employees with at least three continuous years of service (with no breaks in service for any reason). We ASSUME the service cut-off date is June 10, 2016, but we are not 100% certain at this point. We also assume that they will add the two percentages together to equal a total flat raise of 5%, without doing the 2.75% adjustment first, plus the 2.25%. However, we must await further instruction.
We will get more information regarding these salary adjustments from HR in the coming weeks.
Additionally, because of various cost savings, October will be a holiday from paying your state insurance premium! Therefore, for the two paychecks in October, there will be no insurance premium deducted from your pay (the state will pay your full premium).
3/20/19
The 2019 Clerks Association Annual Meeting and Conference will be held April 8 & 9. The conference will be held in Harrisonburg, VA at the Hotel Madison. Rooms are no longer available at the conference rate ($94/night). We have held a block of 20 rooms at the overflow hotel, the DoubleTree Harrisonburg, which are available at a reduced rate ($99/night). Reservations can be made through this link.
2/12/19
A new issue of The Docket has been published!
12/17/18
A new issue of The Docket has been published!
10/15/18
A new issue of The Docket has been published! The Executive Council meets at the end of this month. Please contact your Region Rep if you have any items for our agenda. The performance evaluation and position description work group met and submitted new documents to HR for their review. HR is in the process of putting together webinar training to roll-out the new performance evaluation. Stay tuned!
7/3/18
A new issue of The Docket has been published! The Executive Council met Friday, 6/29/18, and discussed several key issues facing the district courts: proposed changes that would exempt district court employees from UPL concerns; funding of all authorized judgeships (eff. 7/1/19) without concurrent funding for any district court clerks; and, reconvening a performance evaluation and position description work group. The Association opposes the rule change that would exempt clerks from UPL concerns and plans to comment by the 7/13/18 deadline. Please let the Association know if you would like to participate in a work group to develop and update the performance evaluation and position descriptions.
5/4/18
Congratulations to Laura Hatch, Clerk of Court, Fredericksburg GDC, on completing the ICM Fellows Program!
4/19/18
A new issue of The Docket has been published! The Annual Conference was held this week in Charlottesville. Karl Hade addressed attendees and discussed the latest news from the General Assembly.... Without a budget at this point, there is no news regarding raises or bonuses as proposed. No new district court positions were funded this year. The Conference was very successful and the Association thanks those who were instrumental in planning it, and for all of our members for such a great turn out!
1/26/18
A new issue of The Docket has been published!
1/22/18
A new issue of The Docket will be published next week. In it, please find information on how to register for the upcoming Clerks Association Annual Meeting and Conference on April 16-17, 2018. The conference will be held in Charlottesville, VA.
We have heard from OES that General District GCMS and FAS are the top DJIT priorities for 2018! This is great news for General District Courts! The Association has been monitoring this closely and wrote a letter to Mr. Hade regarding our desire to put all other IT projects on the back burner until GCMS is ready. It looks like our communication worked!
The Association has 995 members at present. The most we've ever had is 999, so we're almost there! Let's see if we can get over 1,000 members! Please note changes to Region 2 and Region 8 representatives. Let your Region Reps know how the Association can advocate for your court or if there are issues you'd like to see your Association address!
The General Assembly has convened in Richmond. If you have a relationship with your local delegate or senator, please reach out regarding district court staffing. The Governor's budget eliminated the proposed 20 new positions from the original budget draft. We all know the district courts are understaffed as a whole, so this is a concern for all of us! The bills before the Assembly can be tracked by subject here. You can also view the Association's 2018 Legislative Summary here.
11/7/17
The Clerks Association is now accepting nominations for the annual recognition program. Nominations are due by January 8, 2018. You may email completed applications to Rick Kahl, or fax them to 540-853-2487. Winners will be announced at the Clerks Association Annual Meeting and Conference on April 17, 2018. You may find the nomination form on the Recognition Program page of this website.
Data collection for the most recent District Court Staffing Model Update is now closed.
10/6/17
The Clerks Association Executive Council met on 10/6/17. Our upcoming projects and initiatives include:
Asking OES to prioritize GCMS for the General District Courts
Working with OES to discuss the legislative agenda for 2018
Building a mentorship program within the district courts
Working with OES to develop new, meaningful performance evaluations and position descriptions
Working with OES to do away with deputy clerk/clerk grades and moving to a pay banding/classification system
Hosting a meaningful educational conference in April 2018 and beyond
10/2/17
The District Court Staffing Study data collection effort is underway again.
The e-time sheet is available here: http://intranetprod.courts.state.va.us/eforms/efdailylog.cgi
7/10/17
All District Court employees in good standing are eligible for a 3% raise effective 7/10/17. It will first be seen in the 8/1/17 paycheck, which covers the pay period from 7/10/17 - 7/24/17. Additional salary changes are coming effective 9/10/17. Some District Court employees in good standing will be eligible for additional salary increases due to budget language which authorized an additional $3.5 million to address District Court employees "at the lower ends of the pay scale." The budget language requires the Committee on District Courts (CDC) to authorize a plan for using this money. Your Association is hard at work to make sure this money is spent in a rational, logical way. Once more information is available, we will let you know!
7/7/17
The District Court Staffing Study data collection effort is underway again. General District Courts are being asked to collect and report time spent on CIVIL and TRAFFIC cases. J&DR District Courts are being asked to collect and report time spent on CHILD DEPENDENCY and CHINS cases. The e-time sheet is available here: http://intranetprod.courts.state.va.us/eforms/efdailylog.cgi
6/30/17
A new edition of The Docket is available! (June 2017)
6/21/17
The District Court Clerks Conference, sponsored by OES, was held in Williamsburg on June 20 & 21, 2017. OES announced that a new online payment system, the Virginia Judicial Online Payment System (VJOPS), will be deployed this September. Please ask your Clerk for more information.
6/19/17
The date for the 2018 Conference has been selected: it will be held April 17, 2018, at the Double Tree Hotel in Charlottesville, VA. Look for more information in early 2018! If you have suggestions for Conference sessions, please contact Connie Comer.