Deputy Clerk Law and Legal Definition
Deputy clerk is an employee who is subordinate to the court clerk. A deputy clerk has got the authority to act in the place of a clerk in the court’s official business. Deputy clerk has got the authority to issue warrants, arrest orders, and contempt orders. A deputy clerk can also give a criminal first appearance and appoint indigent counsel or public defenders. They can even sign and release persons held in custody under temporary confinement.
In Mahon v. State, 46 Tex. Crim. 234 (Tex. Crim. App. 1904),the court observed that a deputy county clerk has the same authority as the county clerk both in taking affidavits as a condition precedent to issuing licenses, and for any and all other purposes, as the clerk himself. The deputy clerk's official capacity may be proved by oral testimony.
