CHAPTER 35
SENATE BILL No. 91
(Amended by Chapter 159)
An Act concerning courts; relating to jurisdiction of
district magistrate judges; actions
pursuant to protection from abuse act; amending K.S.A. 1998 Supp.
20-302b and re-
pealing the existing section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 1998 Supp.
20-302b is hereby amended to read as
follows: 20-302b. (a) A district magistrate judge shall have the
jurisdiction,
power and duty, in any case in which a violation of the laws of the
state
is charged, to conduct the trial of traffic infractions, cigarette
or tobacco
infractions or misdemeanor charges and the preliminary examination
of
felony charges. In civil cases, a district magistrate judge shall
have con-
current jurisdiction, powers and duties with a district judge,
except that,
unless otherwise specifically provided in subsection (b), a
district magis-
trate judge shall not have jurisdiction or cognizance over the
following
actions:
(1) Any action, other than an action
seeking judgment for an unse-
cured debt not sounding in tort and arising out of a contract for
the
provision of goods, services or money, in which the amount in
contro-
versy, exclusive of interests and costs, exceeds $10,000, except
that in
actions of replevin, the affidavit in replevin or the verified
petition fixing
the value of the property shall govern the jurisdiction; nothing in
this
paragraph shall be construed as limiting the power of a district
magistrate
judge to hear any action pursuant to the Kansas probate code or to
issue
support orders as provided by paragraph (6) of this subsection;
(2) actions against any officers of the
state, or any subdivisions
thereof, for misconduct in office;
(3) actions for specific performance of
contracts for real estate;
(4) actions in which title to real estate
is sought to be recovered or
in which an interest in real estate, either legal or equitable, is
sought to
be established, except that nothing in this paragraph shall be
construed
as limiting the right to bring an action for forcible detainer as
provided
in the acts contained in article 23 of chapter 61 of the Kansas
Statutes
Annotated, and any acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto;
and
nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as limiting the power
of a
district magistrate judge to hear any action pursuant to the Kansas
probate
code;
(5) actions to foreclose real estate
mortgages or to establish and fore-
close liens on real estate as provided in the acts contained in
article 11 of
chapter 60 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and any acts
amendatory
thereof or supplemental thereto;
(6) actions for divorce, separate
maintenance or custody of minor
children, except that nothing in this paragraph shall be construed
as lim-
iting the power of a district magistrate judge to: (A) Hear any
action
pursuant to the Kansas code for care of children or the Kansas
juvenile
justice code; (B) establish, modify or enforce orders of support,
including,
but not limited to, orders of support pursuant to the Kansas
parentage
act, K.S.A. 23-451 et seq., 39-718a, 39-718b, 39-755 or
60-1610 or K.S.A.
23-4,105 through 23-4,118, 23-4,125 through 23-4,137, 38-1542,
38-1543
or 38-1563, and amendments thereto; or (C) enforce orders granting
a
parent visitation rights to the parent's child;
(7) habeas corpus;
(8) receiverships;
(9) change of name;
(10) declaratory judgments;
(11) mandamus and quo warranto;
(12) injunctions;
(13) class actions;
(14) rights of majority; and
(15) actions pursuant to the
protection from abuse act; and
(16) actions pursuant to
K.S.A. 59-29a01 et seq. and amendments
thereto.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of
subsection (a), in the absence,
disability or disqualification of a district judge, a district
magistrate judge
may:
(1) Grant a restraining order, as
provided in K.S.A. 60-902 and
amendments thereto;
(2) appoint a receiver, as provided in
K.S.A. 60-1301 and amend-
ments thereto; and
(3) make any order authorized by K.S.A.
60-1607 and amendments
thereto; and
(4) grant any order authorized by
the protection from abuse act.
(c) In accordance with the limitations
and procedures prescribed by
law, and subject to any rules of the supreme court relating
thereto, any
appeal permitted to be taken from an order or final decision of a
district
magistrate judge shall be tried and determined de novo by a
district judge,
except that in civil cases where a record was made of the action or
pro-
ceeding before the district magistrate judge, the appeal shall be
tried and
determined on the record by a district judge.
(d) Upon motion of a party, the
administrative judge may reassign an
action from a district magistrate judge to a district
judge.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 20-302b is hereby
repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved March 30, 1999.
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