Court Clerks

 One of the first things a practicing lawyer learns is something that is not taught in law school. Your life becomes a lot less complicated if you take the time to get to know the court clerks, judges’ assistants, bailiffs and court reporters. Nothing more is required than to make it clear to them that you appreciate their work. Clerks will assist with your paperwork and occasionally catch a small error. Judges’ assistants can help get you on the court’s calendar. Bailiffs will call your case sooner on a day with a full courtroom. And court reporters can process your transcript requests much more quickly. Some people equate this with sucking up, but it really boils down to giving people the dignity that their jobs deserve. None of this respect is lost on the judges.

Showing DISRESPECT to these people also gets the judge’s attention. This, strangely enough, brings us to Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell. Sidney has been loudly proclaiming that she has four election cases pending at the Supreme Court. Two have finally been actually filed. The other two cases were rejected by the Clerk’s Office. It’s not clear yet why these cases were rejected but, considering Sidney’s history of inattention to court processes and procedures, she likely screwed up something elementary.

It is her reaction that has none of the earmarks of Dale Carnegie. Rather than taking personal responsibility, she accused the clerk of rejecting her cases in error. Baaad move and one that the justices will remember. When you are asking for immediate relief, actions like this almost guarantee that your cases will instead be slow walked. [Written December18, 2020]