Clerical error

Mistake made while copying or transmitting legal documents, as distinguished from a judgment error, which is an error made in the exercise of judgment or discretion, or a technical error, which is an error in interpreting a law, regulation, or principle.

A mistake made in a letter, paper, or document that changes its meaning, such as a typographical error or the unintentional addition or omission of a word, phrase, or figure.

A mistake of this kind is a result of an oversight. Such an error was mistakenly, not purposely, written and should be readily remedied without objection. If the amount of money owed a plaintiff by the defendant is mistakenly recorded by a court reporter as being $50 rather than $500, then the plaintiff is not bound by this since it is only a clerical error. An error of this nature can be rectified by the court acting sua sponte, on its own, or on the motion of either party once the court learns of the error.

A clerical misprision is fraud that is perpetrated by the clerk of the court and may be readily discerned by examining the record. Such an error can only be corrected from information that appears elsewhere in the record and not from memory by the judge or clerk or by outside testimony.

A clerical error is an error on part of an office worker, often a secretary or personal assistant. It is a phrase which can also be used as an excuse to deflect blame away from specific individuals, such as high powered executives, and instead redirect it to the more anonymous clerical staff.

A clerical error in a legal document is called a scrivener's error.

In law

See also: Mistake (contract law)

There is a considerable body of case law concerning the proper treatment of a scrivener's error.^{[citation needed]} For examples, where the parties to a contract make an oral agreement that, when reduced to a writing, is mis-transcribed, the aggrieved party is entitled to reformation so that the writing corresponds to the oral agreement.^[1]

Scrivener's error has been cited in many appeals cases when the appellate court reverses the trial court's decision. In Ortiz v. State of Florida,^[2] Ortiz had been convicted of possession of less than 20g of marijuana, a misdemeanor.^[3] However, Ortiz was adjudicated guilty of a felony for the count of marijuana possession. The appellate court held that "we must remand the case to the trial court to correct a scrivener's error." Thus, the judgment of the lower court was affirmed in part (upheld judgment of guilt) but also reversed in part (overturned felony adjudication) and remanded back down to the court of original jurisdiction.

References

1. ^ Flemings Fundamentals of Law/Farhod Azarbaydjani
2. ^ 600 So. 2d 530 (Fla. App. 3 DCA 1992)
3. ^ 893.13(1)(g) Fla. Stat. (1989)

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