Each court should establish a well-marked small claims section.
Commentary
Those of us who work daily with legal terminology and routinely deal with members of the bar and law enforcement personnel may not fully appreciate the confusion, uncertainty, and uneasiness a first experience with a court may evoke in a lay litigant. Since the clerk-magistrate’s office is generally the first point of contact with the courts for those who use the small claims procedure, the importance of providing a customer-friendly atmosphere in that office cannot be overstated.
One way the clerk-magistrate’s office can be more responsive to the needs of lay litigants is to locate the personnel responsible for processing small claims actions in office space apart from the civil, criminal, and cashier sections. In those courts where funds and facilities permit, a separate space within the clerk-magistrate’s office or a separate room for the small claims section, apart from the main clerk-magistrate’s office, is suggested. Signs indicating the location of the small claims section should be conspicuously posted.
If space and resources do not permit a separate small claims area, signs should be posted that clearly identify the court employee(s) in charge of small claims and the appropriate line for the small claims litigant to stand in. Small claims litigants should not have to endure a lengthy wait at a front counter only to be referred elsewhere. Since the hurried atmosphere of a front counter is only likely to increase the confusion and frustration of lay litigants, they should be referred to a knowledgeable person in the small claims section for any but the simplest questions. In those courts that employ a single counter person to furnish general information and forms, that employee may distribute small claims forms as well.
The small claims section should maintain an index of small claims actions, arranged alphabetically by name of defendant. This index should be available to the public upon request, but a procedure should be established that allows public access without unduly disrupting the orderly operation of the clerk-magistrate’s office. Persons who routinely request access to large numbers of cases at a time should be required to make prior arrangements with the small claims assistant clerk-magistrate or the small claims supervisor. At no time should these persons be allowed behind the counter to search the index files, as such liberties may create the impression of one party having an unfair advantage over another.