About Us

• Home
• Judicial Council
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Staff
  • Contact Us
• Publications
  • Publication List
  • Ordering Information
  • Online Access
• Legal Forms
• Advisory Committees
• Uniform Trust Code
• Legislation
• Studies and Reports
• J.O. & CINC Codes
• S.Ct. Rules & Orders
• KS Commission on Judicial Performance

Statutory History

The Judicial Council was created in 1927. It is established under K.S.A. 20-2201 et. seq. Members of the Council, its Advisory Committees and the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance are authorized compensation and allowances under K.S.A. 20-2206. The Judicial Council’s duties with respect to the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance are found a K.S.A. 20-3201, 20-3206, and 20-3207.

Operations

The Judicial Council is responsible for an ongoing study of the judicial branch of government. It recommends options for improvement in the administration of justice to both the Legislature and Supreme Court. Projects are initiated by the Council, assigned by the Legislature, and requested by the Supreme Court. Council work may involve drafting legislation and court rules, writing books and manuals, publishing forms, preparing jury instructions, and making reports.

The Council has ten members, eight of whom are appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as follows: one member from the Supreme Court, one from the Court of Appeals, two district court judges, and four practicing attorneys. The chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees are also members.

The Judicial Council uses advisory committees to assist in various projects. Advisory committees of the Judicial Council include Administrative Procedure, Appellate Procedure, Appeals from Termination of Parental Rights, Civil Code, Criminal Law, Death Penalty, Eminent Domain, End of Life Decisions, Estate Tax, Family Law, Guardianship and Conservatorship, Juvenile Offender / Child in Need of Care, Legal Forms, Municipal Court Manual, PIK (Pattern Instructions for Kansas) - Civil, PIK (Pattern Instructions for Kansas) - Criminal, and Probate Law.

The Judicial Council also provides staffing and quarters for the Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance, and the funding for the Commission is included in the Judicial Council’s budget. Funding for the Criminal Code Recodification Commission created by the 2007 Legislature is also included in the Judicial Council’s budget.

Examples of legislation recommended recently by the Judicial Council include legislation proposing a revised Kansas Code for Care of Children and a revised Kansas Juvenile Offender Code; establishing a commission on Judicial Performance; enacting the Uniform Trust Code; recodifying the guardianship and conservatorship act; enacting the Kansas Power of Attorney Act; and amending the contempt powers of municipal judges.