(1) The powers and duties of the clerk of the county court shall be similar to the powers and duties of the clerk of the district court exclusive of the powers of the district court clerk in probate and shall include such duties as may be assigned to him by law, by court rules, and by the county judge. (2) Upon approval by the chief justice of the supreme court, the chief judge of a judicial district may authorize, either generally or in specific cases, the clerk of the county court to do the following: (a) Issue bench warrants, misdemeanor or felony warrants, and writs of restitution upon written or oral order of a judge; (b) Advise defendants in criminal cases of their procedural and constitutional rights; (c) Accept pleas of not guilty in all criminal cases and set dates for hearings or trials in such cases; (d) Subject to the requirements of the Colorado rules of civil procedure, enter default and default judgments and issue process for the enforcement of said judgments; (e) Under the direction of a judge, grant continuances, set motions for hearing, and set cases for trial; and (f) With the consent of the defendant, accept pleas of guilty and admissions of liability and impose penalties pursuant to a schedule approved by the presiding judge in misdemeanor cases involving violations of wildlife and parks and outdoor recreation laws for which the maximum penalty in each case is a fine of not more than one thousand dollars; and in misdemeanor traffic and traffic infraction cases involving the regulation of vehicles and traffic for which the penalty specified in section 42-4-1701, or elsewhere in articles 2 to 4 of title 42, in each case is less than three hundred dollars; and in civil infraction cases. A clerk shall not levy a fine greater than these amounts nor sentence any person to jail. If, in the judgment of the clerk, a fine greater than these amounts or a jail sentence is justified, the case must be certified to the judge of the county court for rearraignment and trial de novo.
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