Rule 21 Clerical mistakes

If a judgment or order has a small mistake, like a typo or a math error, the magistrate can fix it. These are called clerical mistakes, and they happen because of an oversight or something that got left out by accident. This is not for fixing legal errors or changing the actual decision, just for correcting simple slip-ups in the paperwork.

Before the magistrate fixes the mistake, they may require that the other side in the case be told about it, depending on what the magistrate decides is needed. If someone has already filed an appeal, the mistake can still be fixed while the case is waiting to go to circuit court, as long as the official record has not been sent there yet. Once the record has been sent to the circuit court, the magistrate needs permission from that court before making any correction.

Once a correction is made, everyone involved in the case gets a copy of the updated order. This makes sure all parties have the same accurate paperwork and nobody is left working from an outdated or incorrect version.