The Administrative Office of the Montgomery County Circuit Court serves as a conduit for many judicial and non-judicial operations of the court. The Court Administrator’s role is to facilitate the administrative responsibilities of the court and develop policies to enhance systems performance while maintaining the independence of the judiciary. The Circuit Court employs approximately 140 support staff in the following departments and divisions:
Mr. Sheridan is from Kensington, MD, graduated from Einstein High School, and earned a degree in Accounting from Frostburg State University. Upon graduation from the University of Baltimore School of Law he litigated civil, domestic, and minor criminal matters. In 2000, he became the Civil Case Administrator with the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court where he was deeply involved in developing the Court’s case management system. Mr. Sheridan was hired as the Baltimore County Circuit Court Administrator in 2008 and remained in that position until 2022. He managed the Court’s employees, drafted the budget, and assisted the Bench with implementation of various judiciary policies. Tim accepted the challenging position of Court Administrator for the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. His goal is to support the Bench and uphold and improve the standing of the Court as a highly efficient and effective organization, with easy access to justice for all. He completed the Institute for Case Management Court Executive program, teaches the case management course for ICM, and sits on various committees of the judicial branch. Tim lives in Millersville, MD with his wife Lisa and his three daughters.
Fiscal Administration - prepare and guide the court budgets through the local and state government review processes; administer the accounting, purchasing, payroll, and financial control functions of an approximately $14 million court budget; and processing and management of grants.
Human Resources – advertise, interview and select candidates to fill court vacancies; administer wage, salary, and performance appraisal systems; and counsel court employees and facilitate personnel matters for judicial staff. View the County's Career Opportunities at the Circuit Court.
Caseflow Management and Statistics - through data collection and analysis, evaluate pending caseloads, assist the Clerk of the Court in data validation, and develop systems that support effective case processing management. For more information, visit the Court’s Differentiated Case Management (DCM), and Business/Data Quality pages.
Technology Management (Information Systems) - based on caseflow management assessment, evaluate opportunities for technologies that expand the capacity of the court system, including the use of personal computers to navigate on-line information systems; provision for the electronic transmission of and access to data, images, and other files in automated records management and retrieval systems; assessment of emerging technologies for video and telecommunications systems, multimedia tools for education, training, and information delivery; and other computer-assisted systems that can improve the performance of the court.
Information Management - monitor system performance to milestones established by the court, informing court system employees of events that are outside the performance measures established by the court, and trigger the appropriate means of intervention.
Jury Management - oversee the Court’s jury system to ensure efficient and cost-effective policies and procedures for managing juries. For more information, visit Montgomery County Circuit Court's Jury Office.
Space Management (Facilities) - manage physical space to assure access to all citizens, to provide adequate room for work and circulation, and to instill public confidence in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Intergovernmental Liaison - act as a liaison to other governmental agencies and departments to promote collaboration, integration of systems, and facilitation of change while maintaining the integrity of the court as a separate but equal branch of government.
Community Relations and Public Information - serve as a conduit for the release of information to the media and the public; collecting and publishing data on pending and completed judicial business and internal functions of the court system.
Emergency Preparedness – ensuring that leadership and governance as well as processes and protocols are in place to prevent or prepare for, respond to and recover from any threat, emergency, or disaster, to guarantee critical court operations can occur; ensuring that the courts have continuity of operations, with plans in place, in the event of a business interruption, or impact affecting court operations.
These essential responsibilities have been derived from The Court Administrator, A Manual, a publication of the National Association for Court Management.