On the record

Imagine that an average day in your job includes processing felony criminal cases, civil legal actions, deeds, mortgages and refinancings, wills, concealed-carry permits—and marriages. When people ask what you do, what would you say? Llezelle Dugger’s response: “I’m Clerk of Court for Charlottes­ville Circuit Court.” 

“There are 850 duties in the job description,” she says. Previously an attorney in the public defender’s office, Dugger is finishing her second elected eight-year term as Clerk. Can one person handle all that paperwork? She has a staff of eight, many of whom are deputized to sign for the Clerk’s office. When it comes to marriage licenses (last year the Charlottesville court issued 746), Dugger says she likes to sign them if she’s available, or if the people getting married are friends or relatives. And she made sure to execute the first marriage licenses issued in Charlottesville for same-sex couples—“I signed six of them the first day [it was allowed].”

In Virginia, couples can get a marriage license from any court in the state, but they have to get married in Virginia and return the license signed by the officiant to the court that issued it. Dugger says couples sometimes go off on their honeymoon and forget that step, which causes surprises (and more paperwork!) later on. And don’t fudge what you attest under oath to the clerk. Dugger points out that in Virginia, perjury and bigamy—if you’re applying for a marriage license—are both felonies.

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