Chief Judge of a Judicial District

(a) Appointment. In each judicial district, the Supreme Court will appoint a district judge to serve as chief judge. (b) Term. A chief judge will serve a two-year term beginning the second Monday of January in an even-numbered year. When the Supreme Court makes an interim appointment, the chief judge will serve for the remainder of the two-year term. (c) Reappointment. No later than August 30 in an odd-numbered year, a chief judge must notify the Supreme Court if the chief judge wishes to serve another two-year term. (d) Recommendation. A judge of the district court may recommend any district judge of the judicial district to serve as chief judge. The judge must make the recommendation to the departmental justice, and the Supreme Court must keep the recommendation confidential. (e) Powers and Duties . A chief judge’s powers and duties include the following. (1) Clerical and Administrative Functions . The chief judge is responsible for and has supervisory authority over the judicial district’s clerical and administrative functions. (2) Personnel Matters . Consistent with the Kansas Court Personnel Rules, the chief judge is generally responsible for and has administrative authority over the judicial district’s nonjudicial employees. Administrative authority includes their recruitment, job description, discipline, removal, compensation, and training. The appointing authority of a confidential employee is generally responsible for the administrative authority over the confidential employee. However, the chief judge may take appropriate disciplinary action consistent with the Kansas Court Personnel Rules, including termination of a confidential employee, if the appointing authority fails to address conduct issues of the confidential employee after being advised of the issues by the chief judge. (A) Appointment of Clerk and Chief Clerk. The chief judge must appoint a clerk of the district court for each county in the judicial district. The chief judge must also appoint one clerk of the district court to be chief clerk of the judicial district, except that a chief clerk is not required in a judicial district that is authorized to have a court administrator. On appointment, the following provisions apply: (i) the chief judge must send a copy of each appointment order to the Office of Judicial Administration; and (ii) the chief judge must require the clerk and any chief clerk to take and subscribe an oath or affirmation under K.S.A. 54-106. (B) Appointment of Local Language Access Coordinator. The chief judge must appoint a local language access coordinator for the judicial district and notify the Office of Judicial Administration of the appointment. (3) Official Court Reporter Assignment. The chief judge, or the chief judge’s designee, must consider guidelines issued by the Office of Judicial Administration when assigning an official court reporter to take the record in a judicial proceeding. (4) Case Assignment . Under the Supreme Court’s supervision, the chief judge is responsible for case assignment, including assigning a case to any special division of the judicial district. The following provisions apply: (A) the chief judge must distribute the judicial district’s judicial work as equally as possible; (B) a judge must accept an assigned case unless the judge is either disqualified under Kansas law or the Code of Judicial Conduct or the interests of justice requires the judge’s recusal; and (C) the chief judge should reassign a case when necessary. (5) Judge Assignment to Special Division . Subject to approval by a majority of the other judges of the judicial district, the chief judge must assign a judge or judges to any special division of the judicial district created under K.S.A. 20-438. (6) Vacation Planning; Time Off. The chief judge may implement a vacation plan to coordinate vacations or other time off taken by judges of the judicial district. When judges of the judicial district schedule vacations or other time off, the chief judge must ensure adequate coverage of the judicial district’s caseload and the prompt discharge of the judges’ adjudicative and administrative responsibilities. The chief judge may reassign judicial work to other judges of the judicial district to the extent reasonably necessary to ensure adequate coverage. (7) Chief Judge Pro Tem. Subject to the departmental justice’s approval, the chief judge may appoint another district judge of the judicial district to act as chief judge pro tem. in the chief judge’s absence. The departmental justice may appoint a district judge chief judge pro tem. if the chief judge is unable to make the appointment. (8) Information Compilation . The chief judge is responsible for compiling statistical and management information only as requested. (9) Fiscal Matters . The chief judge must supervise the judicial district’s fiscal matters. (A) Designation of Fiscal Officer. The chief judge must designate a fiscal officer for each county in the judicial district to assist in managing the court’s budget. The chief judge may designate a clerk of the district court or court administrator as fiscal officer. In multicounty judicial districts, the chief judge may designate a person to serve as fiscal officer for more than one county. (B) Supervision of Fiscal Officer. The chief judge must supervise a fiscal officer’s performance of the following duties: (i) initiating expenditures from the court’s budget and processing expenditures for the operation of all court offices within the county; (ii) maintaining accounts on all budgetary matters; and (iii) regularly reporting to the chief judge on the status of the court’s budget. (C) County Operating Budget. In preparing and submitting a district court county operating budget, the chief judge or designated fiscal officer must do the following: (i) use forms provided by the Office of Judicial Administration; (ii) follow in detail the district court county operating budget guidelines distributed by the Office of Judicial Administration; (iii) send to the Office of Judicial Administration a copy of the budget when submitting it to the board of county commissioners; (iv) obtain a second copy of the budget that is signed by the county commission’s presiding officer and that indicates approval of the budget as submitted or amended; and (v) send to the Office of Judicial Administration the second copy of the budget by August 25 if the county does not intend to exceed the revenue neutral rate or by October 1 if the county intends to exceed the revenue neutral rate as provided by K.S.A. 79-2988. (10) Committees . The chief judge may appoint standing and special committees to perform court duties. (11) Judicial District Meetings . At least once a month in a single‑county judicial district and at least once every three months in a multicounty judicial district, the chief judge must call a meeting of all judges of the judicial district to review the judicial district’s dockets and to discuss other business affecting efficient court operations. (12) Liaison and Public Relations . The chief judge represents the court in business, administrative, and public relations matters. When appropriate, the chief judge or a designated judge should meet with the bench, bar, and news media to review problems and to promote understanding of the judicial system. (13) Court Improvement . The chief judge must evaluate the judicial district’s effectiveness in administering justice and recommend improvements as needed. [ History: Am. effective September 8, 2006; Am. (a) effective May 6, 2009; Restyled rule and amended effective July 1, 2012; Am. effective July 1, 2016; Am. effective September 8, 2025 .]