2013 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 51 - Courts
Chapter 870 - Judicial Department
Section 51-9 - Duties of executive secretary and other staff members.

Under the supervision and direction of the Chief Court Administrator, the executive secretary and other members of the staff of the Office of Chief Court Administrator shall:

(1) Audit all bills to be paid from state appropriations, except bills of the Division of Criminal Justice, for the expenses of the Judicial Department and its constituent courts prior to taxation or final approval thereof by any judge;

(2) Maintain adequate accounting and budgetary records for all appropriations by the state for the maintenance of the Judicial Department, except the Division of Criminal Justice, and all other appropriations assigned by the legislature or state budgetary control offices for administration by the Judicial Department, except the Division of Criminal Justice;

(3) Prepare and submit to the appropriate budget agency of the state government estimates of appropriations necessary for the maintenance and operation of the Judicial Department, including therein estimates submitted for the Division of Criminal Justice as provided in section 51-279, and make recommendations in respect to those appropriations;

(4) Act as secretary of any meetings, conferences or assemblies of judges, or committees thereof, of the Judicial Department and of its constituent courts;

(5) Supervise all purchases of commodities and services for the Judicial Department, except for the Division of Criminal Justice, to be charged to state appropriations, and issue all orders therefor for the department, excluding orders for the Division of Criminal Justice;

(6) Examine the administrative methods and systems employed in the Judicial Department and its constituent courts and agencies, except the Division of Criminal Justice, and develop and implement programs for the improvement thereof and for securing uniform administration and procedures;

(7) Examine the state of the dockets of the courts of the Judicial Department to ascertain the need for assistance by any court and to implement programs for the fair and prompt disposition of cases therein;

(8) Collect and compile statistical and other data concerning the business transacted by the Judicial Department and its constituent courts and the expenditure of public moneys for the maintenance and operation of the judicial system;

(9) Assist in the preparation of the assignments of the judges of the Superior Court and attend to the printing and distribution for the Superior Court of an annual directory containing relevant information pertaining to the operation of the court;

(10) Serve as payroll officer for the Judicial Department, excluding the Division of Criminal Justice, and for the Supreme Court, Appellate Court and Superior Court;

(11) Supervise the assignment of court reporters of the Superior Court;

(12) Conduct research and planning activities for the Judicial Department and its constituent courts and offices as deemed feasible by, or in the discretion of, the Chief Justice or the Chief Court Administrator;

(13) Develop education programs for the judges and other personnel of the Judicial Department;

(14) Develop personnel standards, policies and procedures, and make recommendations concerning all personnel matters, including requests for salary increases or for additional positions, for consideration by the Supreme Court or the appropriate appointing authorities;

(15) Report periodically to the Chief Court Administrator concerning all matters which have been entrusted to him;

(16) Attend to matters assigned to him by the Chief Justice, or the Chief Court Administrator or by statute;

(17) Design, implement and maintain, as deemed feasible by the Chief Court Administrator, computerized automatic data processing systems for use in the Supreme Court, Appellate Court and Superior Court or divisions of the Superior Court;

(18) Supervise administrative methods employed in clerks’ offices and in the various offices of the Supreme Court, Appellate Court and Superior Court; and

(19) Supervise the care and control of all property where the Judicial Department is the primary occupant, which supervision shall include planning, execution of contracts, except for contracts for consultant services which shall be subject to section 4b-58, oversight and supervision of work involving the construction, repair or alteration of a building or premises under the supervision of the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, when construction contracts do not exceed one million two hundred fifty thousand dollars. For the purposes of this subdivision, “Judicial Department” does not include the courts of probate, the Division of Criminal Justice and the Public Defender Services Commission, except where they share facilities in state-maintained courts.

(1949 Rev., S. 7661; 1957, P.A. 651, S. 9; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 73; February, 1965, P.A. 331, S. 8; P.A. 73-122, S. 14, 27; P.A. 74-183, S. 13, 291; 74-338, S. 65, 94; P.A. 75-530, S. 3, 35; P.A. 76-436, S. 10a, 45, 681; P.A. 78-280, S. 123, 127; P.A. 81-283, S. 1, 3; P.A. 82-248, S. 7; P.A. 83-295, S. 3; P.A. 84-198, S. 6, 7; 84-436, S. 7, 12; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7, S. 132.)

History: 1959 act added reference to circuit court in Subdivs. (h) and (j); 1965 act substituted chief court administrator for chief justice in first clause and Subdivs. (k) and (l); P.A. 73-122 specified applicability or inapplicability of existing provisions to the division of criminal justice; P.A. 74-183 required executive secretary to act as secretary for meetings and committees of judges in Subdiv. (d), required secretary to develop and implement programs rather than make recommendations in Subdiv. (f), required secretary to implement programs for fair and expeditious dispatch of litigation in Subdiv. (g) and placed duties re compilation of data in separate Subdiv. (h), relettering former Subdivs. (h) to (j) accordingly and removing references to circuit court, inserted new Subdivs. (l) to (n) re research and planning, education programs and personnel matters, relettering former Subdivs. (k) and (l) accordingly and added Subdivs. (q) and (r) re data processing and administrative methods, effective December 31, 1974; P.A. 74-338 made technical correction in Subdiv. (c); P.A. 75-530 added detail re contents of booklet in Subdiv. (i); P.A. 76-436 deleted reference to chief judges in Subdiv. (d), deleted references to court of common pleas in Subdivs. (i) and (k), deleted reference to executive secretary in Subdiv. (l) and added Subdiv. (s) re transfer of jurisdiction, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 78-280 applied provisions to other staff members of chief court administrator’s office; P.A. 81-283 excluded division of criminal justice from certain duties of office of chief court administrator; P.A. 82-248 made technical revision, rephrasing some provisions, dividing section into numerical Subdivs. and eliminating obsolete provision re duty to effectuate transfer of jurisdiction under Sec. 51-164s; P.A. 83-295 amended Subdiv. (9) by changing “booklet” to “directory” and deleting the provision that it include any assignments made prior to publication; P.A. 84-198 amended Subdivs. (10), (17) and (18) by adding “appellate court”; P.A. 84-436 added Subdiv. (19) re supervision of all property where the judicial department is the primary occupant and a definition of “judicial department”, effective July 1, 1985; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7 amended Subdiv. (19) to provide that supervision shall include planning, execution of contracts, oversight and supervision of work when construction contracts do not exceed $1,250,000 and make a technical change, effective October 5, 2009.

Cited. 42 CS 129.