Clerk and Judge’s next steps after law enforcement is sent a service request

Recently updated on January 31st, 2025 at 01:39 pm

In LegalAtoms after the judge sets a hearing regardless of whether the temporary order is granted or denied, the clerk will proceed with the following steps

Stage: Packets and Notifications

Sections are

  1. Set Hearing date and time
  2. Create Temporary Order Packet of documents: These are for Petitioner with hearing printed on the Temporary Order and Notice of Hearing
  3. Create Law Enforcement Packet of documents: These are for law enforcement to serve the respondent
  4. Notify Petitioner
  5. Notify Law Enforcement
  6. Hearing Documents:  Upload documents during a hearing

 

When a clerk notifies law enforcement for service, the clerk’s next steps can be any of

  1. Receive the Proof of Service from Law Enforcement. At which point the clerk can proceed to the actual court hearing stage covered in Hearing Documents
  2. Notify the first law enforcement agency again. And again.
  3. Notify a new law enforcement agency which wasn’t notified yet for this set of documents. This could be because the earlier ones are not the appropriate ones, or because multiple agencies may attempt different addresses of the respondent
  4. Upload the Proof of Service which was received outside of LegalAtoms Hearing Documents
  5. Just skip through to the Hearing Documents: there’s a Re-issuance or another Notice of Hearing can be issued
    1. To be validated:: Is Dismissal a valid use-case for i) If the Temporary Order was Granted or ii) If the Temporary Order was Denied

Let’s cover each of these scenarios in details

Scenario 1: Receive the Proof of Service from Law Enforcement

At which point the clerk can click next and proceed to the actual court hearing stage covered in Hearing Documents

Scenario 2: Notify same law enforcement agency again

The clerk can click Notify and select the same law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agency is sent an email notification. The law enforcement agency already has access to the law enforcement packet

Note: In between notifications, the clerk can upload more documents to the Law Enforcement Packet, and the updated set is sent. LegalAtoms displays timestamps on hover over so its clear that new documents uploaded.

Scenario 3: Notify a different law enforcement agency

The clerk can simply re-click “Notify” law enforcement in which case the law enforcement packet of documents would be delivered to the subsequent law enforcement agency.

Note: The clerk can upload more documents to the Law Enforcement Packet if needed, and the updated set is sent. Display timestamps on hover over so its clear that new documents uploaded.

Each law enforcement will get it’s own instance of the following sections so they do not overwrite changes from another agency.

  • E-Service
  • Proof of Service
  • Notify

Note: Today, a law enforcement agency can add “+Proof of Service” documents section. This solution was added as a stop gap solution but one problem it has is there’s only a single instance of Notify section.  Also its confusing for law enforcement to see Proof of Service section of other agencies and know which one is theirs.

 

 

Scenario 4: Upload Proof of Service from Law Enforcement

This is not enabled yet

Suppose the clerk wants to upload the Proof of Service directly, they can do that by clicking Next, and then replacing the empty Proof of Service regenerated by clicking on the upload icon.  The uploaded file typically would be a PDF file, received over e-mail or via mail which was scanned in.

By uploading the file at the pre-defined spot, the internal LegalAtoms logic will share it with the petitioner when the clerk clicks Notify client to be compliant with the notifications requirements of (HB 1370)

Also allow uploading any number of PDF documents by adding the “Upload Documents” button

 

 

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Scenario 5: Proceed to the “Hearing Documents”

The clerk can reach “Hearing Documents” in any of the following ways

  1. Once the Proof of Service is complete, the Clerk would be led to Hearing Documents.
  2. Clerk can click Next through to reach the “Hearing Documents” section to skip waiting on Proof of Service

The clerk will have these options within Hearing Documents

What happens after Hearing Documents

After the hearing documents the clerk has these options

  • Click Next: This will move the case forward to the Full Order Stage: Clerk would do this if the Judge can issue the final grant or deny

 

  • Click “+Packets and Notifications” :  A Clerk would click for this option if a new hearing is to be set and this would add a brand new instance or copy of  Stage: Packets and Notifications which has these sections
    • Set Hearing date and time:  This would be the new hearing
    • Temporary Order Packet of documents: These are for Petitioner with hearing printed on the Temporary Order and Notice of Hearing: This will have Reissuance or Notice of Hearing. The previous packet is copied over. If the original temporary order was
    • Law Enforcement Packet of documents: The previous packet is copied over and again if  the original temporary order was
    • Notify Petitioner
    • Notify Law Enforcement
    • Hearing Documents:  Upload documents during a hearing
  • and these are appended to both document sections i) Temporary Order Packet and ii) Law Enforcement Packet

 

 

 

Data Integrity Rules

The “+Documents Packets and Notifications” button would be clickable after the previous instance has progressed upto Law Enforcement Packet.  Once a new instance is added the Temporary Order Packet and Law Enforcement Packet sections in the previous instance would no longer be updateable.

 

Full Order Stage

Eventually a full order will be reached where the Judge can take the following actions

    • Grant Order
    • Deny and Dismiss Order

 

 

Documents: Two sections are added i) Temporary Order Packet and ii) Law Enforcement Packet

 

 

Here’s a flow chart