A municipal court clerk is in violation of Section 37.10, Tampering with a Government Record, if he or she erases and corrects a mistake he or she made in entering information on a docket.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. Not Addressed
• D. Not Applicable

Answer: (A)

Correcting a clerical error in a government record is not considered tampering if it is done properly. Tampering with a Government Record generally involves altering, concealing, or destroying information with improper intent to mislead or to impair the record’s integrity. When a municipal court clerk erases a mistake and corrects it in a transparent, documented way (for example, making a clear correction note, dating, and initialing), this is part of keeping the docket accurate and is not the same as tampering. The key factor is intent and procedure: legitimate corrections aim to reflect the truth and maintain an accurate record. If the erasure were used to conceal wrongdoing or to manipulate the record, then it could amount to tampering, but simply correcting an entry correctly is not a violation.