Last night attorney Jacqueline Smith joined us for the meeting of the Manassas/Manassas Park Democratic Committee.  She spoke about the Clerk of Court position and how she can modernize the system which has been neglected by the current Clerk.  Digitizing the court is necessary to keep files safe and accessible.  The surrounding jurisdictions are way ahead of Prince William County simply because the current incumbent clerk has made a decision that she is interested more in control of the office rather than facilitating and expediting the process.  (That’s my opinion.)  Federal Courts have been digitized for years.  Jacqueline explained that New Orleans is an example as to why records need to digitized.  When homes and buildings were lost, so were the records at the courthouse.  This meant that home owners had a difficult time proving that they held title to property so that they could receive assistance to rebuild.

I’ve worked with the Fairfax County Clerk’s office in my capacity with a state agency before I retired.  Files were accessible and there were rarely any lines in civil or criminal clerks’ offices.  Some current civil files are available in Prince William but not all of them and certainly not archived files.  We need to elect Jacqueline to bring us up to speed.  She will work well with attorneys in the community as well as the public.  Vote for Jacqueline on November 3.