DISTRICT AND BANKRUPTCY COURTS CLERK’S OFFICES MERGE
The District and Bankruptcy Courts Clerk’s Offices merged on February 14, 2007. Nancy Mayer-Whittington, Clerk of the District Court, became Clerk of the consolidated Clerk’s Offices. Since both Clerk’s Offices were in the same courthouse, it was determined that some services could be consolidated and use taxpayer money more effectively.

The merger which directly affects the public and the Bar is the combination of the Bankruptcy Intake section with the District Court’s Intake section in Room 1225 on the first floor of the courthouse. This enables customers having business with either court to conduct it in the same place. It also places the Bankruptcy Intake area in a more accessible location. One of the public terminals in the combined Intake section was converted to a Bankruptcy only computer.

The consolidation involved many steps and much work. A proposed consolidation plan for the two offices was researched and written. Dollar values were assigned to some of the cost savings of consolidating the various departments, although not all savings could be quantified and some might be long-term. The consolidation plan was then approved by the Chief Judges of the District and Bankruptcy Courts, the Circuit, and then the Judicial Conference of the United States. The final step was the plan’s presentation to Congress and, when Congress let the plan go through unaltered, the consolidation became effective. The combined Clerk’s Office is open from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Monday through Friday.