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Three Level Court System
State of Wyoming Statutes
Exparte
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Three Level Court System
The Wyoming Constitution and state statutes establish our state courts and the types of cases which can be heard and considered in each court.
Under our Constitution the District Court is the court of general jurisdiction. The District Court is given original jurisdiction to consider and decide all causes and actions.
The District Court has jurisdiction to determine felony criminal offenses, probate matters, juvenile issues, and various civil matters. In addition, the District Court is the appropriate court to hear appeals from certain governmental administrative hearings and from courts with limited jurisdiction such as Circuit Court and Municipal Court.
There are nine judicial districts in Wyoming and 24 District Court Judges. Park County is in the Fifth Judicial District which encompasses the four counties in the Big Horn Basin.
The Fifth Judicial District has two District Court Judges. Judge Bill Simpson is the District Judge in Park County and also sits in Big Horn County for civil cases, probates and appeals. Judge Bobbie Overfield is the District Judge in Washakie and Hot Springs counties and also sits in Big Horn County for juvenile and criminal cases.
Courts of limited jurisdiction are courts which are authorized by law to deal with specific kinds of cases. The courts are limited to specific geographic boundaries. Circuit Courts and Municipal Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction.
Effective July 1, 2000, all County Courts were replaced with Circuit Courts.
The Circuit Court has limited jurisdiction to determine misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases when the amount in controversy is a maximum of $50,000. In addition, the Circuit Court is the appropriate court to hear small claims cases. The Circuit Court also hears domestic violence and stalking cases.
While the Circuit Court is not empowered to hear cases involving felony crimes, it’s directed to hold preliminary hearings in felony cases.
Judge Bruce Waters is the Circuit Court Judge in Park County.
As limited by Wyoming statutes, Municipal Courts have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine violations of municipal ordinances within municipalities. A municipal Court Judge may impose fines not exceeding $750.
Thomas P. Keegan is the Municipal Court Judge in Cody, Bret T. Allred is Municipal Judge in Powell and Winfred Orrell, Jr. is the Municipal Judge in Meeteetse.
State of Wyoming Statutes
Abatements. (Repealed 7/01/2018)
Please contact your attorney or the Clerk of District Court for details.
Confidential Intermediary
W.S. §1-22-203. Confidential intermediaries; confidential intermediary services.
(b) Any adult adoptee, adoptive parent, biological parent, biological sibling or biological grandparent who is eighteen (18) years of age or older may file a motion, with supporting affidavit, in the court where the adoption took place or in the court in which parental rights were terminated pursuant to W.S. §14-2-308 through W.S. §14-2-319, to appoint one (1) or more confidential intermediaries for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of the unknown biological relative or relatives, except that no one shall seek to determine the whereabouts of a relative who is a minor. The court may rule on the motion and affidavit without a hearing and may appoint a confidential intermediary. Costs related to the proceeding and investigation shall be the responsibility of the party filing the motion for appointment and investigation.
Clerk of Court
ARTICLE 2 – CLERK
W.S. §5-3-201. Office created; term; election in counties of first and second class; county clerk designated ex officio clerk in other counties.
There shall be a clerk of the district court in each organized county of the state whose term of office shall be four (4) years and until his successor is elected and qualified. Clerks of the district court shall be elected at general elections in counties of the first and second class; and in all other counties the county clerk shall be ex officio clerk of the district court, and shall perform all of the duties pertaining to the office of clerk of the district court.
W.S. §5-3-202. Duties generally.
Each clerk of the district court shall keep and make up the records and books of the court of his particular county, receive all cases filed therein, properly record and attend to the same, and shall have the care and custody of all the records, seal, books, papers and property pertaining to his said office or the court of the county for which he is elected and which may be filed or deposited therein, and shall receive, account for and pay over all money that may come into the possession of the court according to law, and under the orders or decrees of the court, except that which shall be received by master commissioners. He shall keep all records and files in criminal cases, and attend to all duties required of the clerk in relation thereto. He shall attend upon the terms of court held in the county for which he is elected, and perform such duties relating to his office as may be required of him by the court, and shall perform all such other duties relating to his office as are required of him by law or the rules and practice of the courts.
W.S. §5-3-203. Vacation of office; filling of vacancies.
The office of the clerk of the district court shall be deemed vacated under the circumstances provided by W.S. §22-18-101. Any vacancy in the office of the clerk of the district court shall be filled as provided by W.S. §22-18-111.
W.S. §5-3-204. Salaries to be paid by county.
The salaries of clerks of the district courts shall be paid by the county in which they respectively act, in monthly installments, after services are performed.
W.S. §5-3-205. Collection of fees in advance; payment to treasurer; liability for collection.
All fees prescribed by statute for civil business, shall be collected in advance by the clerk and paid to the treasurer of the county at the end of each month, except that the clerk shall remit the court automation fee prescribed by W.S. §2-2-401(a)(iii), W.S. §5-3-206(a)(i), (vii) and (x), W.S. §6-10-102 and W.S. §6-10-103 to the judicial systems automation account established by W.S. §5-2-120 at the end of each month. The clerk shall be liable under his bond for the collection and payment of such fees.
W.S. §5-3-206. Fees.
(a) For all civil matters filed or commenced, the clerk of each district court shall charge the following fees:
(i) For filing instruments or documents in each civil action and certifying one (1) copy of any order, decree or judgment at the time of its filing for each party, an original filing fee of one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) which shall be paid by the plaintiff. This fee shall apply to original actions commenced and to actions that are reopened after a final decree previously has been entered.
(ii) For issuing commission to take deposition, seventy-five cents ($.75);
(iii) For taking depositions and the certificate, seal and transmission thereof, five dollars ($5.00);
(iv) For taking affidavit or acknowledgment, certifying and sealing same, fifty cents ($.50) for each person;
(v) For each certificate and seal, fifty cents ($.50);
(vi) For copying or photostating any record or paper of the clerk’s office when the instrument, record or paper contains one (1) page, one dollar ($1.00), and when more, fifty cents ($.50) for each additional page;
(vii) For all transcripts in cases appealed to the supreme court, one hundred dollars ($100.00), including certificates, seals and transmission. Forty dollars ($40.00) of the fee under this paragraph shall be for court automation, ten dollars ($10.00) shall be for indigent civil legal services and both shall be remitted as provided in W.S. §5-3-205;
(viii) For copies of other documents made by a county operator, fifty cents ($.50) for the first page and twenty-five cents ($.25) for each additional page;
(ix) For filing, recording and issuing certificates of intention to become citizens of the United States and for final naturalization, including oath and record, in accordance with the fee schedule of the United States immigration and naturalization service;
(x) For docketing and in payment of clerk’s fee after docketing incident to any appeal or bill of exception from a circuit court, one hundred dollars ($100.00), and for docketing any transcript of judgment from circuit court upon the judgment and execution dockets, one hundred dollars ($100.00), which amount shall be paid by appellant, or by judgment holder to the clerk at time of docketing. Forty dollars ($40.00) of the fee under this paragraph shall be for court automation, ten dollars ($10.00) and shall be for indigent civil legal services, and both shall be remitted as provided in W.S. §5-3-205.
W.S. §5-3-207. Statement of costs mailed to parties to actions.
If requested by a party to a case, the clerk of the court shall make up an itemized statement of the court costs in the case and mail a copy to the requesting party.
W.S. §5-3-208. Amount of bond; conditions.
Each clerk upon entering on the duties of his office, shall give a bond in the penal sum of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) to the county with two (2) or more sufficient sureties to be approved by the county commissioners conditioned upon the faithful performance of the duties of his office, the proper collection and turning over all fees and the proper payment of all moneys collected by him and he shall from time to time give such additional bond as the judge of the court may require.
W.S. §5-3-209. Clerk liable on bond for acts of deputies; deputy’s bond.
Each clerk shall be liable upon his official bond for all acts of his deputies, but each clerk may take from his deputies a bond to himself to indemnify him on account of the acts of his deputies.
W.S. §5-3-210. Duty as custodian of seal; seal to be attached to official papers.
The clerk of the district court shall be custodian of the seal of said court, which seal shall be kept in the office of the clerk of the district court in the respective counties and shall be attached to all writs, orders, or other instruments that the clerk of the district court is now or may hereafter be required or permitted to sign or certify in his official capacity.
W.S. §5-3-211. Books and records to be kept. (Repealed 2019)
The clerk of district court shall keep an appearance docket, a trial docket, journal, record and execution docket. The appearance docket, record and execution docket may be kept and preserved in one (1) book.
W.S. §5-3-212. Entries on appearance docket and their effect.
The clerk shall enter on the appearance docket, at the time of the commencement of an action or proceeding, the names of the parties in full, with names of counsel, and forthwith index the case, direct and reverse, in the name of each plaintiff and defendant. He shall also enter at the time it occurs, under the case so docketed, the issue of the summons or other mesne process or order, and the filing of each paper, and he shall note on the appearance docket the date of issuance, date of service and how served and date of filing, which will be evidence of such service.
W.S. §5-3-213. Clerk not to act as attorney.
No clerk of the district court or county clerk in counties wherein such clerk is ex officio clerk of the district court, shall accept employment or retainer as an attorney-at-law or give any advice as such in any action, cause or proceeding pending in the court, wherein he is such clerk.
Exparte
Can I talk to the Judge?
Talking to a judge outside a formal court proceedings about a case is called ex parte communications, and it is not allowed. It does not matter whether or not you are a party to a case or a member of the public who has an interest in a particular case. Ex parte is a Latin phrase meaning, “on one side only; by or for one party; one side of a controversy.”
However, that does not mean you may never talk to a judge! Judges are lawyers. Lawyers, and judges, are just regular people who work in the legal profession. They could be your next door neighbor or standing behind you at the grocery store. If you want to say hello to a judge, chat with him or her about the weather, or even gripe about your common problems with local road construction delays–it would be no different than talking to anyone else you might know. But it is different if you want to talk to a judge about a legal issue or about a pending court case in which a judge is presiding. When a lawyer becomes a judge, he or she must follow a Code of Judicial Conduct. Outside formal court proceedings, individual people may not ask a judge for legal advice about a case nor even discuss a case in general terms if the judge will have to ultimately make the final decision about the outcome of the case.
Think of it this way–Would you want a judge to talk to anyone else about your case, especially to someone on the opposite side, without you present or even knowing about it? Probably not! So although you are not permitted to tell the judge your version of the story, neither is anyone else permitted to tell the judge their version of the story or express an opinion about which side should win the case. This ban includes persons who are not parties, including your family, friends, pastors, teachers, counselors, state senators, or doctors. In the interest of fairness to all persons involved in a case and court proceedings, no person or party may directly communicate with a presiding judge in any case pending before the Court outside of an official hearing or other court proceeding.
Courts are a part of the judicial branch, one of three independent branches of our system of government. Judges apply the laws to controversies brought before the Court. The most basic function of the judicial branch is the public administration of justice and this is achieved through impartial judges. One way a judge remains impartial is that he or she must not be involved in the controversies which that judge will ultimately decide. This requirement of “no involvement” extends to court personnel working directly for the judge. Therefore, neither judges nor the professional or administrative court personnel may talk about or provide legal/procedural advise to parties regarding cases pending before the Court. More importantly, you should remember that any information you might receive outside of a legal proceeding from court personnel is just that, information. It is not the “law.” It is not legal advice given in your best interest nor is it given in the best interest of any other person or party either. A judge’s staff works for the judge, not the attorneys and not the parties.
Court personnel strive to give out the best, most accurate and factual information possible. They do not purposefully give out misleading information. Court personnel want to be as helpful as possible, but how much help they can give is limited. They may not talk about certain types of cases such as juvenile delinquency cases; adoption cases; cases involving child abuse, sexual assault or neglect; and certain other cases which are deemed confidential under the law. Court personnel are not allowed to give suggestions or advice to you about any kind of legal questions–for any reason–regardless of whether or not you are represented by an attorney. All these restrictions are meant to protect the integrity of the legal system, the public trust in the court system, and the rights of the parties involved in controversies before the court.
If a person wants to assert his or her legal rights and properly present certain concerns about a case to the Court for a judge’s final determination, the best way is through an attorney who represents that person. An attorney hired by you has a professional responsibility to zealously represent and advocate your best interests at all times.