The Clerk of Courts is one of nine County “Row Officers.”  They are known as Row Officers for the simple reason that their names appear in a row on the ballot in the year that the County officials are elected.  The other Row Officers are the Controller, the Coroner, the District Attorney, the Prothonotary, the Recorder of Deeds, the Register of Wills, the Sheriff and the Treasurer.  These County officers are elected in the same years as the County Commissioners.

The Clerk of Courts serves as the manager of the office that maintains the files for the County Criminal Court.  It also collects and distributes court related costs, including fines and bail money.  Physically located on the second floor of the Courthouse in Norristown, the office presently has 34 employees.  According to the Budget adopted by the County Commissioners for 2007, the office has an operating budget of  $601,200 and a payroll and benefits budget of $1,615,600, for a total budget of $2,216,800.  It brought in revenues of $3,847,000 which are distributed to municipal, county and state offices and to victims who are awarded restitution in criminal proceedings.