Posted by LisaWI on 2/10/10 11:57am
Msg #322216
A Notary Question
I was asked this question from a gentleman on AR:
In the State of Wisconsin, Are Notaries Public considered "officers of the court"?
So what are your opinions or facts that you know of from your own states. We dont have anything that says yeah or nay in Wisconsin.
At first I was leaning towards yes, but then I thought about it a little more and decided that officers of the courts would be more of someone who is delegated a role in the court setting who may be a notary.
Thoughts??
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Reply by LKT/CA on 2/10/10 12:00pm
Msg #322217
In CA, as public officers of the state, Notaries can swear litigants in.....court clerks/bailiffs usually do it but if the court clerk is beamed up by aliens and the judge wanted to continue on with court proceedings, a Notary present in the audience can do it.
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Reply by LisaWI on 2/10/10 12:40pm
Msg #322233
So this is unique to CA law?? So are they then considered an officer of the court just for that instance? Very interesting. Thx for the feedback 
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Reply by PAW on 2/10/10 12:56pm
Msg #322238
Not unique to CA. However, just because a notary public can administer an oath, even in court, they are not considered officers of the court. As was explained to me, the rule of thumb to determine if someone is an "officer of the court" or "officer of the state" is to determine who has regulatory authority over them. Court clerks, judges, some lawyers, etc. receive their authority (and often their pay) and are regulated by judicial agencies. Notaries are usually regulated by the Secretary of State or Governor, as ministerial executive appointments, thus are not considered officer of court, even when administering an oath in a judicial procedure.
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Reply by JanetK_CA on 2/11/10 1:01am
Msg #322364
I thought that all lawyers were officers of the court if they were approved to litigate in a courtroom. I'm no expert on this, though; just have a few cousins who are lawyers and I've overheard references to being "officers of the court".
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Reply by LKT/CA on 2/10/10 1:13pm
Msg #322242
No, CA Notaries are not officers of the court. PAW's correct.
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Reply by Marian_in_CA on 2/10/10 2:31pm
Msg #322261
I've done this...
When I spent weeks on Jury Duty last year, I had a lot of spare time sitting around the courthouse, because the case I was on was weird, and the jury was kicked in and out of the courtroom so often, it was as if we were little jack-in-the box toys. Anyway, the judge knew I was a notary from vois dire both because we had to tell them our professions, but also because the case involved a notarized document.
At one point, while we were waiting in the hall (which is what we usually did) and the judge was hearing other cases, the judge actually called me in and asked if I could issue an oath to a witness in chambers. I wasn't sure why they didn't just pull his clerk back to do it... but it seemed like they were really busy. It was a little bit weird, honestly... but I wasn't going to say no. I had the authority to do it, and I was there... so why not?
What Lisa said is true, though... as public officials we can do it. After all, we do it for depositions and every single jurat we handle. It's exactly the same authority, and the oath means the same whether sitting at a kitchen table or in a courtroom.
But an officer of the court? Not really.
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Reply by jba/fl on 2/10/10 12:02pm
Msg #322219
Google the question: Are NP officers of the court? and:
ta da!
wiki.answers.com/.../True_or_False_Notary_Publics_and_affiants_are_officers_of_the_Court
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Reply by jba/fl on 2/10/10 12:13pm
Msg #322221
Re: Google the question: Are NP officers of the court? and:
Also, in WI, even if not a NP, others may perform the duties of NP: page 27, item 3 of your brochure Found that interesting....
www.sos.state.wi.us/pdf/notary_info_brochure.pdf
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Reply by LisaWI on 2/10/10 12:24pm
Msg #322226
Re: Google the question: Are NP officers of the court? and:
Yes it is isnt it. Thanx, I also found more info in relation to this. Wanted to see what others in the trenches thought. Or if it was a state to state thing. Louisiana might be different. When we think about what we do is "Prima Facie" evidence in a court of law, this could be misinterpreted as we are officers of the court.
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Reply by PAW on 2/10/10 12:27pm
Msg #322228
Typically, notaries public are ministerial commissioned officers of the state, not judicial officers of the court.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_of_the_court
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Reply by BrendaTx on 2/10/10 3:21pm
Msg #322273
I would not consider myself an officer of the court.
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