EXECUTIVE OFFICER SHERRI R. CARTER RETIRING FROM COURT SERVICE AFTER DRIVING TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS TO MODERNIZE COURT OPERATIONS IN THE NATION’S LARGEST TRIAL COURT AND GUIDING THE COURT THROUGH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, BUDGET CRISES WITHOUT LAYOFFS OR FURLOUGHS
A Leader with Executive Court Leadership on the State, National & International Levels, Carter will be Recognized on December 1 with a Judicial Council of California Distinguished Service Award
After leading the operations of the nation’s largest trial court for nearly a decade – including oversight of an annual budget totaling almost $1 billion and a 4,800-member workforce – Executive Officer/Clerk of Court Sherri R. Carter will be retiring from court service at the end of December, Presiding Judge Eric C. Taylor announced today.
“Ms. Carter’s leadership has fundamentally transformed the largest court in the nation: from new case management systems to business process improvements, to flexibility in the face of disaster – her commitment to modern management and administration is unparalleled,” Presiding Judge Taylor said. “It has been an honor to work so closely with her during this historic time of crisis. On behalf of the bench, I offer my most sincere congratulations and gratitude for her unshakeable dedication and team leadership as we navigated the Court through a once-in-a-century pandemic to provide safe access to justice for the residents of Los Angeles County.”
Presiding Judge Taylor nominated Carter for the Judicial Council of California’s Distinguished Service Award for her many accomplishments in the furtherance of access to justice and outstanding court administration. Carter will receive the award during a ceremony in December.
“I am deeply grateful to Presiding Judge Taylor and previous Presiding Judges David S. Wesley, Carolyn B. Kuhl, Daniel J. Buckley, and Kevin C. Brazile for their ongoing support, as well as the support from their fellow judicial officers and the amazing employees for their dedication, commitment to public service and constant work to transform the court from a manual, paper-based operation to an efficient, electronic and innovative leader that has served as a model for trial courts large and small in California and across the nation,” Carter said. “Despite the enormous economic challenges over the years, including, most recently, the pandemic, the Court’s efficiencies achieved since 2013 positioned the Court well to not only endure the abrupt fiscal downturn but manage it without laying off or furloughing one employee. I truly enjoyed the many immense challenges of leading the operations of the nation’s largest trial court. It is an honor to receive this recognition, and I want to thank the Chief Justice and Judicial Council for acknowledging me with this career achievement.”
In Los Angeles County, the Court under Carter’s leadership delivered on the successful adoption of modern case management systems to 580 courtrooms and millions of litigants every year, which poised each litigation area for efficient, effective, and electronic operation: from efiling, to the paperless courtroom, to remote access to courtroom hearings, to convenient online Clerk’s Office functions, services, and programs, to remote access to court records. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, Carter and her team accelerated the completion and launch of LACourtConnect, a court-developed remote courtroom appearance solution that has allowed more than 1,248,805 participants to appear remotely. Dozens of the Court’s innovations under her leadership have been recognized with awards from the county level to the national level.
Carter previously served as the Court Executive Officer and Clerk of Court for the Superior Court of California, County of Riverside, from 2008 to 2013. Before joining the California state court system, she served as the District Court Executive and Clerk of Court for the United States District Court, Central District of California – the largest federal trial court in the nation. Prior to her work in California, Carter served as Trial Court Executive and Clerk of Court for the Eighth Circuit Court in the State of Utah.
Carter has served on numerous California state court committees and working groups related to budget and finance, legislation review and implementation, staff workload assessment and funding, juvenile court-appointed counsel workload and funding, bail reform and various issues related to technology.
While serving in the federal court system, she was involved in several national committees related to budget and finance, staff workload and funding, interpreters, and technology. She also traveled to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Russia, Philippines, Guam, and Palau to assist their judicial systems with budget formation, jury development, management reviews, and court administration. In 2002, she received the Director’s Award for Outstanding Leadership from the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
At the national level, Carter is a recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Service Award given by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The following year, she served as a member of the Conference of Chief Justices Civil Justice Improvements Committee.
You can see the full notice here.
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