Session of 2000
         
SENATE BILL No. 618
         
By Senator Salisbury
         
2-9
         

  9             AN  ACT concerning the judicial branch of government; relating to
10             courts; authority of supreme court; amending K.S.A. 4-202, 4-203, 4-
11             204, 4-205, 4-206, 4-207, 4-208, 4-209, 4-210, 4-211, 4-212, 4-213, 4-
12             214, 4-215, 4-216, 4-217, 4-218, 4-219, 4-220, 4-221, 4-222, 4-223a, 4-
13             224, 4-225, 4-226, 4-227, 4-228, 4-229, 4-230, 4-231, 4-232 and 20-301
14             and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 20-334 and repealing the existing sections; also
15             repealing K.S.A. 20-301b and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 20-338.
16      
17       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
18             New Section  1. The supreme court of the state of Kansas shall al-
19       locate all judicial resources as the court determines necessary and appro-
20       priate. The supreme court shall assign the number of district judge po-
21       sitions and district magistrate judges as currently provided by law to each
22       judicial district as the court determines necessary. The supreme court
23       shall determine where each district judges's and district magistrate judge's
24       office is to be located and shall assign the county in which such judge
25       shall serve and hear cases.
26             Section  2. K.S.A. 4-202 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-202.
27       The counties of Atchison and Leavenworth shall constitute the first ju-
28       dicial district. Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 20-354a and amend-
29       ments thereto, there shall be four district judges in such district.
30             Sec.  3. K.S.A. 4-203 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-203.
31       The counties of Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee, Jackson and Jefferson shall
32       constitute the second judicial district. There shall be two district judges
33       in such district.
34             Sec.  4. K.S.A. 4-204 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-204.
35       The county of Shawnee shall constitute the third judicial district. There
36       shall be 13 district judges in such district.
37             Sec.  5. K.S.A. 4-205 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-205.
38       The counties of Franklin, Anderson, Coffey and Osage shall constitute
39       the fourth judicial district. There shall be three district judges in such
40       district.
41             Sec.  6. K.S.A. 4-206 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-206.
42       The counties of Chase and Lyon shall constitute the fifth judicial district.
43       There shall be two district judges in such district.


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  1             Sec.  7. K.S.A. 4-207 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-207.
  2       The counties of Miami, Linn and Bourbon shall constitute the sixth ju-
  3       dicial district. There shall be three district judges in such district. At least
  4       one district judge position shall be in Bourbon county.
  5             Sec.  8. K.S.A. 4-208 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-208.
  6       The county of Douglas shall constitute the seventh judicial district. There
  7       shall be four district judges in such district.
  8             Sec.  9. K.S.A. 4-209 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-209.
  9       The counties of Geary, Dickinson, Marion and Morris shall constitute the
10       eighth judicial district. There shall be four district judges in such district.
11       The judge holding one of the district judge positions shall be a resident
12       of Dickinson, Marion or Morris county and the judge holding another
13       such position shall be a resident of Geary county. The position of the
14       third district judge shall be in Marion county and the position of the
15       fourth district judge shall be in Geary county.
16             Sec.  10. K.S.A. 4-210 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-210.
17       The counties of McPherson and Harvey shall constitute the ninth judicial
18       district. There shall be three district judges in such district. At least one
19       district judge position shall be in McPherson county and at least one shall
20       be in Harvey county.
21             Sec.  11. K.S.A. 4-211 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-211.
22       The county of Johnson shall constitute the 10th judicial district. There
23       shall be 16 district judges in such district.
24             Sec.  12. K.S.A. 4-212 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-212.
25       The counties of Crawford, Cherokee and Labette shall constitute the 11th
26       judicial district. There shall be six district judges in such district.
27             The district judges of the 11th judicial district shall hold court in the
28       cities of Pittsburg and Girard in Crawford county, the city of Columbus
29       in Cherokee county and the cities of Parsons and Oswego in Labette
30       county.
31             Sec.  13. K.S.A. 4-213 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-213.
32       The counties of Jewell, Mitchell, Lincoln, Republic, Cloud, and Wash-
33       ington shall constitute the twelfth judicial district. There shall be one
34       district judge in such district.
35             Sec.  14. K.S.A. 4-214 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-214.
36       The counties of Butler, Greenwood and Elk shall constitute the 13th
37       judicial district. There shall be three district judges in such district. The
38       judge holding one of the district judge positions shall be a resident of
39       Greenwood or Elk county and the judge holding another such position
40       shall be a resident of Butler county. The position of the third district
41       judge shall be in Butler county.
42             Sec.  15. K.S.A. 4-215 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-215.
43       The counties of Montgomery and Chautauqua shall constitute the 14th


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  1       judicial district. There shall be three district judges in such district. At
  2       least two district judge positions shall be in Montgomery county.
  3             The district judges of the 14th judicial district shall hold court in the
  4       cities of Coffeyville and Independence in Montgomery county and the
  5       city of Sedan in Chautauqua county.
  6             Sec.  16. K.S.A. 4-216 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-216.
  7       The counties of Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan, Cheyenne, Rawlins, Wal-
  8       lace and Logan shall constitute the 15th judicial district. There shall be
  9       two district judges in such district.
10             Sec.  17. K.S.A. 4-217 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-217.
11       The counties of Gray, Ford, Kiowa, Meade, Clark and Comanche shall
12       constitute the 16th judicial district. There shall be two district judges in
13       such district.
14             Sec.  18. K.S.A. 4-218 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-218.
15       The counties of Decatur, Norton, Phillips, Smith, Graham and Osborne
16       shall constitute the 17th judicial district. There shall be one district judge
17       of the district court of the district. The district magistrate judge holding
18       office in position one in Graham county in the 15th judicial district, as
19       the district was constituted on the day before the effective date of this
20       act, shall continue to hold office for the term for which elected and shall
21       serve as district magistrate judge of the 17th judicial district for that term
22       and until a successor is appointed or elected and qualified.
23             Sec.  19. K.S.A. 4-219 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-219.
24       The county of Sedgwick shall constitute the 18th judicial district. There
25       shall be 24 district judges in such district.
26             Sec.  20. K.S.A. 4-220 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-220.
27       The county of Cowley shall constitute the 19th judicial district. There
28       shall be three district judges in such district.
29             Sec.  21. K.S.A. 4-221 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-221.
30       The counties of Stafford, Barton, Russell, Ellsworth and Rice shall con-
31       stitute the 20th judicial district. There shall be three district judges in
32       such district. The judge holding one of the district judge positions shall
33       be a resident of Stafford, Russell, Ellsworth or Rice county and the judge
34       holding another such position shall be a resident of Barton county. The
35       position of the third district judge shall be in Barton county.
36             Sec.  22. K.S.A. 4-222 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-222.
37       The counties of Riley and Clay shall constitute the 21st judicial district.
38       There shall be three district judges in such district. At least one district
39       judge position shall be in Riley county.
40             Sec.  23. K.S.A. 4-223a is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-223a.
41       The counties of Doniphan, Brown, Nemaha and Marshall shall constitute
42       the 22nd judicial district. There shall be two district judges in such
43       district.


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  1             Sec.  24. K.S.A. 4-224 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-224.
  2       The counties of Gove, Trego, Rooks and Ellis shall constitute the 23rd
  3       judicial district. There shall be two district judges in such district.
  4             Sec.  25. K.S.A. 4-225 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-225.
  5       The counties of Edwards, Pawnee, Rush, Hodgeman, Ness and Lane shall
  6       constitute the twenty-fourth judicial district. There shall be one district
  7       judge of the district court.
  8             Sec.  26. K.S.A. 4-226 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-226.
  9       The counties of Scott, Wichita, Greeley, Hamilton, Kearny and Finney
10       shall constitute the 25th judicial district. There shall be three district
11       judges in such district. At least two district judge positions shall be in
12       Finney county.
13             Sec.  27. K.S.A. 4-227 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-227.
14       The counties of Stanton, Grant, Haskell, Morton, Stevens and Seward
15       shall constitute the 26th judicial district. There shall be two district judges
16       in such district.
17             Sec.  28. K.S.A. 4-228 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-228.
18       The county of Reno shall constitute the 27th judicial district. There shall
19       be four district judges in such district.
20             Sec.  29. K.S.A. 4-229 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-229.
21       The counties of Saline and Ottawa shall constitute the 28th judicial dis-
22       trict. There shall be four district judges in such district. At least two
23       district judge positions shall be in Saline county.
24             Sec.  30. K.S.A. 4-230 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-230.
25       The county of Wyandotte shall constitute the 29th judicial district. There
26       shall be 15 district judges in such district.
27             Sec.  31. K.S.A. 4-231 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-231.
28       The counties of Sumner, Harper, Kingman, Barber and Pratt shall con-
29       stitute the 30th judicial district. There shall be four district judges in such
30       district. At least one district judge position shall be in Harper, Kingman,
31       Barber or Pratt county and at least two such positions shall be in Sumner
32       county.
33             Sec.  32. K.S.A. 4-232 is hereby amended to read as follows: 4-232.
34       The counties of Allen, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson shall constitute the
35       31st judicial district. There shall be three district judges in such district.
36             The district judge holding office in division number two in the fourth
37       judicial district, as that district was constituted on June 30, 1983, and the
38       district judge holding office in division number four in the 11th judicial
39       district, as that district was constituted on June 30, 1983, shall continue
40       to hold office for the terms for which appointed and shall serve as district
41       judges of the 31st judicial district for those terms and until successors are
42       appointed and qualified. The associate district judge holding office in
43       position four in the 11th judicial district, as that district was constituted


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  1       on June 30, 1983, shall continue to hold office for the term for which
  2       appointed and shall serve as district judge of the 31st judicial district for
  3       that term and until a successor is appointed and qualified. The district
  4       magistrate judges holding office in positions one and four in the fourth
  5       judicial district, as that district was constituted on June 30, 1983, shall
  6       continue to hold office for the terms for which appointed and shall serve
  7       as district magistrate judges of the 31st judicial district for those terms
  8       and until successors are appointed and qualified.
  9             The district court of the 31st judicial district shall hold court in the city
10       of Iola in Allen county, the cities of Chanute and Erie in Neosho county,
11       the city of Fredonia in Wilson county and the city of Yates Center in
12       Woodson county.
13             Sec.  33. K.S.A. 20-301 is hereby amended to read as follows: 20-301.
14       There shall be in each county a district court, which shall be a court of
15       record, and shall have general original jurisdiction of all matters, both
16       civil and criminal, unless otherwise provided by law, and also shall have
17       such appellate jurisdiction as prescribed by law. Each district court shall
18       have a judge assigned to such court by the supreme court as provided in
19       section 1, and amendments thereto.
20             Sec.  34. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 20-334 is hereby amended to read as
21       follows: 20-334. (a) Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 20-2909 and
22       amendments thereto, any person who is elected, retained in office or
23       appointed as a district judge shall:
24             (1) Have been regularly admitted to practice law in the state of
25       Kansas;
26             (2) be a resident of the judicial district for which elected or appointed
27       to serve at the time of taking the oath of office and shall maintain resi-
28       dency in the judicial district while holding office; and
29             (3) for a period of at least five years, have engaged in the active prac-
30       tice of law as a lawyer, judge of a court of record or any court in this state,
31       full-time teacher of law in an accredited law school or any combination
32       thereof.
33             (b) Any person who is elected, retained in office or appointed as a
34       district magistrate judge shall:
35             (1) Be a graduate of a high school or secondary school or the equiv-
36       alent thereof;
37             (2) be a resident of the county judicial district for which elected or
38       appointed to serve at the time of taking the oath of office and shall main-
39       tain residency in the county judicial district while holding office; and
40             (3) if not regularly admitted to practice law in Kansas, be certified by
41       the supreme court, in the manner prescribed by K.S.A. 20-337 and
42       amendments thereto, as qualified to serve as a district magistrate judge. 
43       Sec.  35. K.S.A. 4-202, 4-203, 4-204, 4-205, 4-206, 4-207, 4-208, 4-


6

  1       209, 4-210, 4-211, 4-212, 4-213, 4-214, 4-215, 4-216, 4-217, 4-218, 4-219,
  2       4-220, 4-221, 4-222, 4-223a, 4-224, 4-225, 4-226, 4-227, 4-228, 4-229, 4-
  3       230, 4-231, 4-232, 20-301 and 20-301b and K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 20-334 and
  4       20-338 are hereby repealed.
  5        Sec.  36. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
  6       publication in the statute book.