Rule 107: Duties and Powers of Chief Judge

(a) Appointment and Term; Recommendation. A chief judge of a judicial district is appointed as follows:

(1) Appointment. The Supreme Court will appoint a chief judge in each judicial district.

(2) Term. A chief judge is appointed for a 2-year term that begins January 1 in an even-numbered year. An interim appointment is for the remainder of the 2-year term.

(3) Reappointment. On or before November 30 in an odd-numbered year, an incumbent chief judge must notify the Supreme Court whether the judge wishes to be reappointed.

(4) Recommendation. A judge of the district court may recommend to the departmental justice the appointment of a chief judge for the judge’s district. The Supreme Court must keep any recommendations confidential.

(b) Chief Judge’s Duties and Powers. The chief judge’s duties and administrative powers include:

(1) Clerical and Administrative Functions. The chief judge is responsible for and has supervisory authority over the court’s clerical and administrative functions.

(2) Personnel Matters.

(A) General Responsibility. The chief judge is responsible for and has supervisory authority over recruitment, removal, compensation, and training of the court’s nonjudicial employees.

(B) Appointment of Clerk and Chief Clerk. The chief judge must appoint a clerk of the district court for each county in the judicial district and appoint one clerk of the district court to be chief clerk of the district, except that a chief clerk is not required to be designated in a judicial district which is authorized to have a court administrator. On appointment:

(i) a copy of each appointment order must be sent to the judicial administrator; and
(ii) the clerk or chief clerk appointed under this subparagraph must subscribe to an oath or affirmation under K.S.A. 54-106.

(C) Appointment of Local Language Access Coordinator. The chief judge must appoint a local language access coordinator for the judicial district and give notice of the appointment to the office of judicial administration.

(3) District Court Case Assignment. Under the Supreme Court’s supervision, the chief judge is responsible for case assignment. The following guidelines apply:

(A) To the extent reasonably possible, the chief judge must distribute the district’s judicial work equally.
(B) The chief judge should reassign cases when necessary.
(C) The chief judge is responsible for assigning cases to the court’s special divisions, if any.

(4) Judge Assignment.

(A) Subject to approval by a majority of the other judges, the chief judge must:

(i) assign judges to the court’s special divisions, if any; and
(ii) prepare an orderly vacation plan that is consistent with statewide guidelines.

(B) Subject to the departmental justice’s approval, the chief judge may appoint another judge of the district to act pro tem. in the chief judge’s absence.

(C) A judge must accept an assigned case unless the judge is disqualified or the interests of justice require the judge’s recusal.

(5) Information Compilation. The chief judge is responsible for developing and coordinating statistical and management information.

(6) Fiscal Matters. The chief judge must supervise the court’s fiscal affairs.

(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 districts, the same person may serve as fiscal officer for one or more counties.

(B) Fiscal Officer’s Duties. The fiscal officer in each county must:

(i) under the chief judge’s supervision, initiate expenditures from the court’s budget and process expenditures
for the operation of all court offices within the county;
(ii) maintain accounts on all budgetary matters; and
(iii) regularly report to the chief judge on the status of the
court’s budget.

(C) Preparation of County Operating Budget; Copies. In preparing and submitting a district court county operating budget, the chief judge—or a fiscal officer under the chief judge’s supervision—must:

(i) use forms prescribed by the judicial administrator;
(ii) follow in detail the district court county operating budget guidelines distributed by the office of judicial administration;
(iii) forward to the judicial administrator a copy of the budget at the time the budget is submitted to the board
of county commissioners; and
(iv) no later than August 25, forward to the judicial administrator a second copy of the budget, signed by the presiding officer of the county commission indicating approval of the budget as submitted or as amended.

(7) Committees. The chief judge may appoint standing and special committees necessary to perform the court’s duties.

(8) District Judicial Meetings. At least once each month in a single-county district and at least once every 3 months in a multicounty district, the chief judge must call a meeting of all judges of the district court to review the district’s dockets and to discuss other business affecting the court’s efficient operation.

(9) Liaison and Public Relations. The chief judge represents the court in business, administrative, and public relations matters. When appropriate, the chief judge should meet with—or designate other judges to meet with—bench, bar, and news media committees to review problems and promote understanding.

(10) Improvement in the Court’s Functioning. The chief judge must evaluate the court’s effectiveness in administering justice and recommend changes.

[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.]