I recently read a very enjoyable and enlightening newspaper article about the three clerks working in the Butler County Clerk of Court Office. The first line of the story made me a little hesitant to continue reading: “If you are heading to the Butler County Clerk of Court Office, chances are you haven’t had a good day.” Despite the rough start, I’m glad I continued reading. The reporter listed all of the resources available to Iowans in the clerks office and how Julie Kneip, Megan Buhrow, and Terri Halbach try to make everyone’s day “a little brighter.”
One of my great pleasures as chief justice is to travel the state meeting clerks and clerk staff in courthouses around Iowa. I have seen the excellent interaction with the public the reporter described repeated often. I see it in the juvenile court services offices I visit. I see it when I meet with judges. I see it when I visit court reporters. I am very proud to call myself a public servant and I see, by your actions, that many of you are, too.
I was particularly interested to read about each clerk’s background and how they use their experiences when helping the public. Julie has a paralegal degree and a master’s degree in mental health counseling, Megan has worked at both Floyd and Butler counties, and Terri has a criminology degree and worked in the mental health field for 10 years as an advocate. She also has two years’ experience doing advocacy work for domestic abuse and homicide survivors. What a wealth of life experiences to bring to the courthouse every day. The judicial branch is very lucky to have so many people with diverse backgrounds and interests working together, with us.
The newspaper article continued with an anecdote about how the clerks offices in “Butler, Franklin, Bremer, and Floyd counties work together as a team under [Julie] Kneip.” Megan Buhrow told the reporter, “We all do the same type of work, but all specialize in different things.” Megan gave the example that the Franklin County team specialize in processing divorces and civil cases and the Butler County judicial specialists have expertise in small claims, probates, and mental health.
As I read about the four counties working together, I knew this was the type of cooperation that will strength our rural courthouses and help us reach our goal of being the best court system in the country. Iowa became a uniformed court system 46 years ago, and I can feel our connections growing stronger every year. At that time, the legislature created one “Iowa District Court System” from 500 justice-of-the-peace courts, 899 mayor's courts, 14 municipal courts, and 34 police courts.
Four years ago, we completed the statewide implementation of our electronic filing and electronic document storage system. I think this, too, has brought us closer together as a statewide system, uniting 99 unique counties and the supreme court in the shared goal of being the best court system in the nation.
I appreciate all that you do for the citizens of Iowa and how you all work together to improve our entire court system. Your stories show how an organization achieves success, and how those who serve a justice system should treat each other and the public. Thank you
You can read the entire article here.