by Ryan McKeen
Clerks are the lifeblood of any court. Connecticut has many outstanding court clerks who organize and operate our courts in an effective manner. In doing their jobs, they provide an outstanding service to the state.
But I have a little bone to pick…
Last week I met with a client. The return date in his case had just passed. An appearance needed to be filed to avoid a default.
The client filled out a pro se appearance. I instructed the client to go to the court and file the appearance to avoid being defaulted. The client did this.
After the client filed the appearance the court clerk handed him an answer form and told him he had to fill out whether he agreed or disagreed with the allegations contained in the plaintiffs complaint.
When the client told me this, I was appalled. Filing an answer has all sorts of consequences in a case. It waives some important rights and can some procedural protections. An answer to a complaint may or may not be the proper first step for a defendant in a law suit. Determining what to file and when to file it is legal advice.
I’m not going to name the court or the case but telling a defendant that an answer needs to be filed is not the role of the clerk.