Kansas County Court Information

The district courts are the principal courts serving each of the 105 counties of Kansas. Although there is no court named specifically as a Kansas County Court, the various district courts together with the municipal courts of the region hear and try all the cases filed in the various counties of Kansas.

There are a total of 31 district courts in Kansas with 243 judges presiding over them. Almost all of them function according to the local rules in addition to following the statutes of the state. The 31st Judicial District is unique as it has no local rules of its own.  The courts permit jury trials in all kinds of cases except those concerned with small claims. The State of Kansas has a limited action jurisdiction which refers to the different traffic as well as the small claims dispute cases filed in the courts.

Jurisdiction

While the district courts located within the counties of Kansas have complete jurisdiction over all civil as well as criminal disputes, cases pertaining to national security are usually taken over by the federal courts. Occasionally there may be prominent divisions within the courts with each of them handling cases of a specialized nature.

The civil division of the district courts is well equipped to handle all kinds of civil disputes including appeals. Small claims of up to $4000 are often referred to the civil division as well.

Domestic relation courts, on the other hand, deal exclusively with family matters-especially those concerned with marital disputes and domestic violence. Legal separation and divorce cases are also heard by the domestic relations division of the district courts. Adoption, custodial rights, as well as visitation rights may be brought before this court. Juvenile delinquency cases are within the purview of the Juvenile Court.

Traffic infractions as well as misdemeanor cases are handled by the limited action division of the district court. DUI as well as DWI cases are referred to this division as well.

Drug courts as well as youth courts exist in some counties. These divisions deal exclusively with rehabilitation programs which aim to rectify the residents and deter them from committing the same offense repeatedly.

Obtaining Information

Information pertaining to the district courts situated in Kansas can be obtained by accessing the official website at http://www.kscourts.org/kansas-courts/district-courts/. All court records of the hearings as well as trial proceedings can be viewed online by subscribing to a service of the Kansas government. You can check out the relevant details by visiting http://www.kansas.gov/subscribers/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/howToSubscribe.html.

The judicial office can be contacted at 534 S. Kansas Avenue, Ste. 1210, Topeka, if you need additional information. You can also call the toll free number (800) 4KANSAS (800-452-6727) in case you are unable to visit the department personally. The office of the Judicial Administration can be accessed over the telephone (785.296.2256) as well.

Sending an e-mail to info@kscourts.org will also help you in obtaining specific information about the judicial court proceedings. Students of law as well as researchers can view all district court statistics online by accessing the resource at http://judicial.kscourts.org:7780/stats/.