Attorneys worry about court backlog, while clerk of court battles mysterious illness

By Nate Traylor

Leader Staff

She hopes it doesn’t come to it, but Julie Knutson may decide to step down from her position as the Clerk of District Court if her mysterious illness doesn’t go away soon

Knutson’s absence has left two full-time employees scrambling to keep up with the large volume of paperwork that continues to come in, while local attorneys met with the county commissioners this week to discuss the situation.

Meanwhile, District Court clerks Lyn Fricker and Mary Rensvold have shared Knutson’s duties, subsequently putting in overtime. Fricker was appointed in November to act on behalf of the Clerk of Court when Knutson took an indefinite medical leave of absence.

Sick leave and vacation time are not an option. Neither is lunch for that matter. The two order in everyday.

To their credit, they’ve been able to stay on top of it, but there is still much to be resolved with the absent Clerk of Court and many are wondering when she’ll come back — if ever.

Her ailment — which has yet to be diagnosed — has rendered her incapable of performing her job, Knutson said. She complains of dizzy spells, light-headedness and erratic heartbeats. She says she faints several times a week. Months before her leave of absence, she blacked out in the office. Fricker and Rensvold recall finding her unconscious in the file vault.

In the meantime, Knutson has been home biding her time between doctor appointments. She said her symptoms started in October of last year.

“It just started getting increasingly worse. They can’t seem to figure out what in the world is wrong with me. Sometimes I feel so dizzy, it feels like your Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz during the tornado. Too bad there wasn’t a real-life Dr. House,” she added, referring to a character from a popular TV show.

Though she took a medical leave of absence last fall, she said she has managed work half-days up until Jan. 31. For the past month and a half Knutson has been incapacitated. Because she is an elected official (she took office in 2005), she still receives a salaried paycheck and full health insurance.

The lack of personnel in the Clerk of Courts office has Lake County attorneys concerned, as they use the office for various administrative needs. There are deadlines to meet, and documents must be filed in a timely manner.

So far, there hasn’t been any problems. However, the extra added stress on Fricker and Rensvold is taking its toll on them. Earlier this month, they both became extremely sick and neither were able to come to work on Tuesday, March 6. That was the first time in Fricker’s 15 years as a district court clerk that the office has ever been closed on a weekday.

By law, someone from the Clerk of Courts office has to be available for filing 24 hours a day. But with one less body in the office, that only leaves two employees on call.

Fricker recently employed another part-time clerk as an “emergency hire” to assist with duties, which has helped, but they’re still operating at a frantic pace — even limiting bathroom breaks to keep up with the work load. They are also receiving help from district court clerks from Sanders and Flathead counties on law and motion days.

On Monday, the Lake County Bar Association, consisting of attorneys Matt O’Neil, Dave Humphrey, Bob Long and Mitch Young, approached the county commissioners about their concerns. However, they found that not much can be done to provide the office with extra help.

“The commission has stepped up to the plate as much as we can,” said county commissioner Mike Hutchin. “We’ve done all we can do financially.”

That includes providing Fricker and Rensvold an extra 10 cents an hour, which equates to $175-a-month bonus.

County commissioner Paddy Trusler noted that hiring untrained help is usually worse than no help at all.

As an elected official, Knutson cannot be asked to resign. However, it’s something she is considering.

“I should, hopefully, by the first couple of weeks in April, have all these test results back and [doctors] should be able to tell me something,” she said. If not, she may voluntarily step down.

“I obviously can’t keep having the office in disarray, because is not doing the clerk’s office any justice as far as what I was elected to do,” said Knutson.

She added that if things continue the way they have been for another month or two, she may have to resign due to medical reasons.

“I sure as heck hope is doesn’t come to that,” she said.

Knutson said she hopes to work and appreciates the support that she has received. Because she cannot drive due to her illness, people, including Trusler, have been driving her to appointments in Missoula.

She is currently looking into getting a home computer from the Montana Supreme Court so she can work from home and access JCMS files (that is the program the Montana Supreme Court uses to file district court cases throughout the state.) She hopes that might ease some of the tension in the office.

“I’m trying to do things from home and [Fricker and Rensvold] know anytime they have a question or concern they can call me or e-mail me,” she said.

In the meantime, Fricker and Rensvold are working overtime to keep up.

“It’s nothing personal. It’s just that we need someone here. We need a clerk,” said Fricker. “Two people doesn’t cut it.”