Vol. 30, No. 5, #1. A Day in the Life of a Wyoming District Court Law Clerk.

• Author: Author: Suzannah B. Gambell

Wyoming Bar Journal

2007.

Vol. 30, No. 5, #1.

A Day in the Life of a Wyoming District Court Law Clerk

Wyoming Bar Journal Vol. 30, No. 5, #1 Issue: October, 2007

A Day in the Life of a Wyoming District Court Law Clerk Author: Suzannah B. Gambell 8:00 a.m.

Arrive at work at the Couthouse in Cody, where I have been working for the Honorable Steven Cranfill since last September. Sit down at my desk and check e-mail. There are three new e-mails from fellow law clerks about next week's conference. We will be meeting for four hours on September 11th in Jackson. I am convinced there must be something wrong with our e-mail system and wonder if I should alert the Supreme Court in Cheyenne of the problem. One of the messages was sent at 1:20 a.m. After reading the message, I realize there is nothing wrong with our system; my fellow law clerk had indeed been in the office in the early morning hours working on a summary judgment decision letter. I respond by telling her she wins the award as the most dedicated of our group, and thank her for her help with the upcoming conference. Another clerk writes that he has several questions for our one-hour panel discussion we are holding with Justice Voigt and two Supreme Court law clerks. We are hoping Justice Voigt and the clerks can tell us how we can make our decision letters more helpful to the Supreme Court when they are sent up on appeal.

8:31 a.m.

Read over three pro se proposed decrees of divorce before giving them to Judge Cranfill for review and signature. Draft two letters to the pro se litigants for the judge to review. One plaintiff has sent a proposed decree that both the plaintiff and the defendant have stipulated to. However, it appears the defendant has made changes to the proposed decree with a blue pen, while all of plaintiff's writing is in black. It has not been notarized, and I am unsure if the changes were made with plaintiff present as there are no initials next to the changes. Another proposed decree involves children. After reviewing the financial affidavits and after spending thirty minutes attempting various mathematical calculations, I cannot figure out how the plaintiff came up with the amount she lists as her net monthly income. Finally, I decide that it isn't just my lack of mathematical abilities that is creating the discrepancy. The third proposed...