(A) Required records. The clerk of the circuit court shall maintain the records for all circuit, superior, county, probate and municipal courts in the county.
(1) The clerk of the circuit court shall maintain any record required by an act of the general assembly or a duly promulgated rule of any state agency, including the following:
(a) Lis pendens record (IC 32-30-11-1 ); (b) Record of transcripts and foreign judgments (IC 33-32-3-2(d) ); (c) Judgment Docket (IC 33-32-3-2 ), wherein all orders requiring entry in the judgment docket shall include the term “judgment” in the title and shall set forth the specific dollar amount of the judgment in the body of the order; (d) Execution docket (IC 33-32-3-5 ); (e) Records specified under the probate code; and (f) Records specified by the state board of accounts as to the fiscal matters relating to the court and clerk. (2) The clerk of the circuit court shall also maintain the following records as specified under this rule:
(a) Chronological Case Summary; (b) Case file; (c) Record of judgments and orders (order book); and (d) Indexes. (B) Chronological Case Summary. For each case, the clerk of the circuit court shall maintain a sequential record of the judicial events in such proceeding. The record shall include the title of the proceeding; the assigned case number; the names, addresses, telephone and attorney numbers of all attorneys involved in the proceeding, or the fact that a party appears pro se with address and telephone number of the party so appearing; and the assessment of fees and charges (public receivables). Notation of judicial events in the Chronological Case Summary shall be made promptly, and shall set forth the date of the event and briefly define any documents, orders, rulings, or judgments filed or entered in the case. The date of every notation in the Chronological Case Summary should be the date the notation is made, regardless of the date the judicial event occurred. The Chronological Case Summary shall also note the entry of orders, rulings and judgments in the record of judgments and orders, the notation of judgments in the judgment docket (IC 33-32-3-2 ), and file status (pending/decided) under section (G) of this rule. The Chronological Case Summary may be kept in a paper format, or microfilm, or electronically. The Chronological Case Summary shall be an official record of the trial court and shall be maintained apart from other records of the court and shall be organized by case number. (C) Case file. In each case assigned a case number, the clerk of the circuit court shall maintain a file containing a copy of any order, entry, or judgment in the case and the original of all other documents relating to the case: including pleadings, motions, service of process, return of service, verdicts, executions, returns on executions and, if prepared, certified, and approved, the transcript of the testimony. The original order, entry, or judgment shall be maintained as part of the record of judgments and orders, the file shall contain a copy of such original. Unless necessary to detail the filing chronology, the case file need not include transmittal letters, instructions, envelopes or other extrinsic materials not related to the issues of the case. The file shall contain an index tab listing the case number and an abbreviated designation of the parties and shall note the information required under section (G) of this rule. In the event the court does not maintain a separate evidence file, documents entered into evidence, including depositions, shall be placed into the case file.(D) Record of judgments and orders (order book). The clerk of the circuit court shall maintain a daily, verbatim, compilation of all judgments of the court, designated orders of the court, orders and opinions of an appellate tribunal relating to a case heard by the court, local court rules under Trial Rule 81, certification of the election of the regular judge of the court, any order appointing a special judge, judge pro tempore, or temporary judge, the oath and acceptance of any judge serving in the court, any order appointing a special prosecutor, and the oath and acceptance of a special prosecutor. The clerk may maintain a separate record of judgments and orders as required for the functional management of the court’s business. Except where the record of judgments and orders is maintained electronically, a separate record of judgments and orders for confidential materials shall be maintained. (E) Indexes. In addition to any index required under the provisions of this rule, state statute, or duly promulgated rule of a state agency, the clerk of the circuit court shall prepare and maintain indexes of all actions and proceedings in the circuit, superior, county, probate, and municipal courts in the County. This index shall be in an alphabetical format which notes the names of all parties, the date on which a party became part of the proceeding, and the case number of the proceeding. In the event courts are not located in the county courthouse, the clerk shall supervise the appropriate preparation of indexes for these courts and provide for the combination of indexes for all courts in the county. (F) Pleadings and papers: Where filed and entered. All pleadings and papers shall be filed in accordance with Trial Rule 5 with the clerk of the circuit court. In the event a court is not located in the same facility as the clerk of the circuit court, all pleadings and papers shall be filed with the clerk serving that court. If an initial pleading or complaint is assigned to a court not within the facility where the initial pleading or complaint was filed, the clerk shall promptly notify the person filing the pleading and transmit the documents to the clerk serving the court where the matter will be considered and all further papers will be filed with the latter court. In the event an initial pleading or complaint is filed with the clerk of the wrong court, the clerk, upon notice to the person filing the initial pleading or complaint, may transfer the case to the proper court before service of summons or appearance of other parties, or any opposing party may move for transfer as provided for under Trial Rule 12(B) or Trial Rule 75. (G) Case File Status.(1) The clerk of the circuit court shall maintain the case files, as set forth under section (C) of this rule, in either a pending or decided status. Pending files, arranged by assigned case number, consist of all cases which have not been decided. Decided files consist of the actions which have been concluded and no further proceedings remain to be conducted as evidenced by the final judgment or other order of the court. (2) When a case has been decided, the file shall be assigned a disposition date pursuant to Administrative Rule 7 of the Indiana Supreme Court and maintained under the original case number in a location apart from pending files. In the event a decided case is redocketed for consideration by the court, the disposition date shall be deleted from the file and the case file returned to the pending cases in sequence with the case number originally assigned. A disposition date shall be reassigned at the time the case returns to a decided status. (H) Statistics. The clerk of the circuit court shall establish procedures to determine a statistical count of all actions filed, decided, and reinstated as required by the division of state court administration. (I) Replacing lost papers. If an original pleading or paper filed with the clerk of the circuit court cannot be located within the recordkeeping system set forth under this rule, the court may authorize a copy of such record to be filed and used as the original. (J) Method of record keeping. Under the direction of the Supreme Court of Indiana, the clerk of the circuit court may, notwithstanding the foregoing sections, keep records in any suitable media. Records that must be maintained permanently pursuant to Administrative Rule 7 D. (Retention Schedules) (Trial Rule 77 Schedules (10)), must, if maintained electronically, be kept so that a hard copy can be generated at any time. The record keeping formats and systems and the quality and permanency requirements employed for the Chronological Case Summary, the case file, and the record of judgments and orders (order book) shall be approved by the division of state court administration for compliance with the provisions of this rule. (K) Electronic Posting of Court Records. The clerk, with the consent of the majority of the judges in the courts of record, may make court records, including but not limited to the Chronological Case Summary, record of judgments and orders, index, and case file, available to the public through remote electronic access such as the Internet or other electronic method. The records to be posted, the specific information that is to be included, its format, pricing structure, if any, method of dissemination, and any subsequent changes thereto must be approved by the Division of State Court Administration under the direction of the Supreme Court of Indiana. Such availability of court records shall be subject to applicable laws regarding confidentiality.
