Rule 37.COURT ADMINISTRATORS

Rule 37 lays out two layers of court administration. At the district level, a district court administrator carries out whatever administrative duties are assigned from time to time — a role defined by ongoing assignment rather than a fixed list of tasks in the rule itself.

At the county level, the rule lets courts appoint their own local court administrator, but only with the consent of local governing authorities — the county commission or similar body that controls funding and staffing decisions. That appointment can specify the administrator’s compensation, duties, and term, giving each circuit flexibility to shape the position to its own needs. Once appointed, a local court administrator can take on general administrative and managerial supervision over the court’s administrative activities, functions, and personnel — with one carve-out: the administrator does not supervise the staff of any elected official, such as the clerk of court.

The administrator may be responsible for enforcing the court’s administrative policies and procedures and may directly supervise and direct the employees the court needs to operate. In practice, this is the person who keeps the day-to-day machinery of the courthouse running — scheduling, staffing, and operations — while judges handle the judicial work and elected officials like the clerk retain control over their own offices.