United States v. Jones

Background

Several court clerks sued the United States after the Treasury accounting officers refused to pay certain items in their approved accounts. The clerks had prepared and submitted accounts for services performed for District and Circuit Courts, and some charges were approved by those courts but later disallowed by Treasury. Disputed items included fees for administering oaths and affixing jurats to marshals’ accounts, preparing transcripts for writs of error for indigent defendants, affidavits of poverty, issuing subpoenas for jurors, and other clerk tasks.

Reasoning

The Court examined whether the Government must pay these specific clerk charges. It held that attaching an oath and jurat to a marshal’s account is just a formal part of presenting the account and not a paid service, so that item was removed. But when a court orders a clerk to provide a service—such as preparing transcripts for an indigent defendant, handling poverty affidavits, or issuing subpoenas—the order is sufficient authority to allow payment to the clerk. Charges lacking a court order, like certificates for copies and jury meal orders, were rejected, and certain jurat charges for voir dire were not justified.

Real world impact

Clerks will still be paid for services expressly ordered by courts, which preserves access to transcripts and other aids for poor defendants. Clerks cannot bill the Government for mere formalities of filing, like attaching jurats, or for services without a court’s direction. This decision resolves these specific fee disputes and further narrows what the Treasury must reimburse.