Court Screen

The Court page contains all the information about the courts hearing the case and how the case is filed, tracked, and staffed in the court. Some of the information on this page is presented in a simplified, condensed format in the Courts/Dockets area of the Case Summary page, but the Court page contains much more thorough information, and is the only place where the information can be directly edited. The page is divided a table for courts, then further divided into subtables for each docket and judge/clerk in the selected court.
Note: "Docket" in the SmartAdvocate system is a somewhat general term. It is used to signify any means by which the case is identified by the court. This may literally be a docket number, but it may also be an index number or some other identifier. Some courts may assign several different types of "dockets" for a single case. See the IndexType picklist for defining the available identifiers that can be used as dockets.

The Structure of This Page

Note: The Add Docket Button, Docket Table, Add Judge/Clerk button, and Judge/Clerk table are all associated with an individual row of the Court table, and only appear if the row is set to display sub tables. For that reason, whether these tables appear in your Court page, and where in the Court table they appear, will depend on which row, if any, of the Court table is set to display sub tables. See Sub tables and the Open/Closed Column.

  1. Court Table

  2. Docket Table

  3. Judge/Clerk Table

Court Table

At the top of the screen in the Court page is the court table containing courts that have heard or are hearing the case. Each court will have its own row in the table. Expanding the row to display sub tables will reveal dockets and judge/clerk tables for each court. Expand the row by clicking on the arrow next to the name of the court.

 

The Court Table has the following columns:

  1. Add Court Button: Allows you to assign a new court to the case.

  2. Court: Lists the name of the Court contact linked through the Add/Edit Case Court Panel.

  3. Address: Lists the primary address of the Court contact linked through the Add/Edit Case Court Panel.

  4. Phone Number of the Court: Lists the primary address of the Court contact linked through the Add/Edit Case Court Panel.

  5. Department: A text field allowing the department of the court that the case is being handled by.

  6. Comment: A text field allowing entry of any comments on this court with respect to this case.

  7. Action Column: Contains an action icon with a dropdown that allows you to Edit or Delete the Court from the case, or assign a new docket or Judge/Clerk to the court.

Adding a Court

Clicking the Add Court button brings up the add/edit form for courts, which has the following fields:

  1. Name: A Contact-list dropdown that only includes contacts whose contact type is Court. Select the court you wish to add to the case.

  2. Department: Text field; enter the department of the court.

  3. Plaintiff Caption: Text field; the plaintiff portion of the caption.

  4. Defendant Caption: Text field; the defendant portion of the caption.

  5. Comments: A text input field. Any comments on this court with respect to this case.

  6. Active: A checkbox. Whether the court is currently hearing the case. If this is not selected, none of the dockets in this court, nor the court itself, will be visible in the Courts / Dockets area of the Case Summary page, although they will remain accessible on the Court Page.

Docket Table

When the rows in the court table are expanded, the docket table is displayed.

The Docket Table has the following columns:

  1. Add Docket Button: Allowed you to add a Docket/Court # to the case.

  2. Docket/Court#: A text input field. The identification number used by the court for the docket.

  3. Type of Court/Docket#: A dropdown allowing you to select what type of identification number is represented by the entry in Docket #. This is configurable from the Court Index Types item in Picklist Maintenance.

  4. Filing Date: A date-widget dropdown. The date the docket was filed with the court.

  5. Payee: A contact-list dropdown. The contact to whom the filing fee was paid.

  6. Price: A text input field. The amount of the filing fee.

  7. Check #: A text input field. The number of the check used to pay the filing fee.

  8. Check Date: A date-widget dropdown. The date on the check used to pay the filing fee.

  9. E-File: A checkbox. Whether e-filing is available for this docket. If this is selected, the docket will have an e-filing icon at the beginning of the docket column for that docket in the Courts/Dockets area of the Case Summary page.

  10. Comment

  11. Document

  12. Actions: An action column containing an edit icon and a delete icon.

Adding a Docket

Clicking the Add Docket button brings up the add/edit form for dockets, which has the following fields:

 

  1. Docket/Court#: A text input field. The identification number used by the court for the docket.

  2. Active: A checkbox. Whether the docket is currently active. If this is not selected, this docket will not be visible in the Courts / Dockets area of the Case Summary page, although it will remain accessible on the Court Page.

  3. E-File: A checkbox. Whether e-filing is available for this docket. If this is selected, the docket will have an e-filing icon at the beginning of the docket column for that docket in the Courts/Dockets area of the Case Summary page.

  4. Type of Court/Docket#: A dropdown. What type of identification number is represented by the entry in Docket # (see the note at the top of this page).

  5. Filing Date: A date-widget dropdown. The date the docket was filed with the court.

  6. Payee: A contact-list dropdown. The contact to whom the filing fee was paid.

  7. Price: A text input field. The amount of the filing fee.

  8. Check #: A text input field. The number of the check used to pay the filing fee.

  9. Check Date: A date-widget dropdown. The date on the check used to pay the filing fee.

  10. Caption Document: Dropdown; the document attached to the case that should be used as the caption document.

  11. Comments: A text input field. Any comments regarding this docket.

Judge/Clerk Table

When the rows in the court table are expanded, the judge/clerk table is displayed.

The Judge/Clerk Table has the following columns:

  1. Add Judge/Clerk button: Allows you to create a new entry in the table.

  2. Docket/Court #: The Docket/Court # associated with that judge.

  3. Judge/Clerk: A contact-card link for the individual.

  4. Role: The individual's role in the case.

  5. Address: The primary address of the individual.

  6. Phone: The primary phone number of the individual.

  7. Actions: An action column containing an edit icon and a delete icon.

 

Adding a Judge/Clerk

Clicking the Add Judge/Clerk button brings up the add/edit form for judges/clerks, which has the following fields:

 

  1. Docket/Court #: A dropdown containing any docket/court numbers associated with that court.

  2. Judge/Clerk: A contact-list dropdown that only includes individuals with judicial contact types (such as Judge or Magistrate).

  3. Role: A dropdown allowing the selection of that individuals role in the case.

 

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