Barton County District Court
Kansas district courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction. The Barton County local district court explainer states that Kansas district courts hear civil and criminal cases, divorce and domestic relations, damage suits, probate and estate administration, guardianships, conservatorships, care and treatment matters, juvenile matters, and small claims. Barton County District Court therefore serves as the main local trial court for most filed court records in the county.
Barton County is in the 20th Judicial District with Ellsworth, Rice, Russell, and Stafford counties. The local source says Barton County is the largest county in that district. The district has three district judges and four district magistrate judges. Barton County District Court filings and court record access are centered at the Barton County Courthouse, 1400 Main, Suite 306, Great Bend, KS 67530, through the Clerk of the District Court.
The 20th Judicial District judge list is an assigned Barton County District Court source.
The judge list shows why Barton County District Court access also requires understanding the wider 20th Judicial District structure.
Barton County District Court List
The research did not identify numbered Barton County district courts like a large urban county might have. Instead, Barton County belongs to the 20th Judicial District, where judges and magistrate judges serve across several counties. The required court table is therefore rendered as the official judge and court officer table from the local district source rather than as separate numbered trial courts.
| Court officer | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hon. Carey L. Hipp | Chief Judge | 210 North Kansas, Ellsworth, KS 67439 | 785-472-8931 |
| Hon. Lisa Beran | District Judge | 1400 Main, Great Bend, KS 67530 | 620-793-1863 |
| Hon. Levi Morris | District Judge | 1400 Main, Great Bend, KS 67530 | 620-793-1863 |
| Hon. Timarie Walters | District Magistrate Judge | PO Box 365, St. John, KS 67576 | 620-549-3295 |
| Hon. Crystal Miner | District Magistrate Judge | 401 N. Main St., Russell, KS 67665 | 785-483-5641 |
| Hon. Richard Burgess | District Magistrate Judge | 101 W. Commercial St., Lyons, KS 67554 | 620-257-2384 |
| Hon. Peggy Svaty | District Magistrate Judge | 210 N. Kansas, Ellsworth, KS 67439 | 785-472-3832 |
| Barton County Clerk of District Court | Clerk and records office | 1400 Main, Suite 306, Great Bend, KS 67530 | 620-793-1856 |
District Court vs Municipal Court
Kansas does not use a county court or justice court layer for Barton County in the way some states do. The state court map for this project lists District Court as the primary trial court and Municipal Court as the lower court type. Municipal courts handle city ordinance, local traffic, nuisance, code, and city misdemeanor matters. They do not handle Barton County felony prosecutions, divorce, probate, or district court civil filings.
| Feature | District Court | Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|
| Main role | Kansas trial court of general jurisdiction for Barton County. | City court for municipal ordinance and local traffic matters. |
| Criminal work | Felony prosecutions and qualifying misdemeanors. | City misdemeanors and ordinance violations. |
| Family and probate | Divorce, domestic relations, probate, guardianship, and conservatorship. | Not the forum for district court divorce or probate matters. |
| Traffic | Sheriff and Highway Patrol tickets noted in local material. | City traffic citations, such as Ellinwood or Hoisington municipal cases. |
| Record access | Kansas CaseSearch, courthouse terminal, and Clerk of the District Court. | Contact the city municipal court or city payment route. |
Barton County Case Flow
A Barton County District Court case begins when a petition, complaint, citation, probate filing, or other initiating document is filed. Criminal cases may start after arrest, summons, complaint, first appearance, and arraignment. Civil and domestic cases usually move from petition to service, answer, motions, hearing, settlement, trial, judgment, and possible appeal. Probate matters move from petition to appointment, notice, inventory, claims, accounting, distribution, and closing when required.
Criminal flow: Charge filed › First appearance › Arraignment › Motions › Plea or trial › Disposition › Sentencing › Appeal.
Civil flow: Petition filed › Service › Answer › Motions › Hearing or trial › Judgment › Collection or appeal.
Probate flow: Petition › Appointment or letters › Notice › Inventory and claims › Orders and accounting › Distribution or closing.
The Barton County District Court links and hotlines page points users to Kansas Judicial Branch resources, legal forms, payment resources, and related court links.
Those links support the case flow because many searches, forms, and payments are handled through statewide Kansas court systems.
Barton County Court Divisions
Barton County District Court records may be civil, criminal, domestic, probate, juvenile, care and treatment, small claims, traffic, or fish and game matters. Civil records can include petitions, summons returns, answers, motions, orders, judgments, and garnishment or satisfaction records. Criminal records can include complaints, warrants or summonses, bond entries, plea records, motions, hearing settings, dispositions, sentencing orders, restitution, fines, and costs.
Domestic and divorce cases are district court records. The local rules designate Barton County divorce days as the first and third Friday of each month. Probate cases include estates, wills filed in estate matters, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, inventories, letters, accountings, and closing orders. Juvenile and adoption matters are not ordinary public files, and protected personal identifiers may be redacted even when a case index is public.
Barton County Local Rules
The 20th Judicial District local rules add Barton County details that do not appear in a generic Kansas court summary. The rules state that criminal motion days are heard in Barton County on the second and fourth Friday of each month. They also state that divorce days in Barton County are the first and third Friday of each month. The rules authorize district magistrate judges of the 20th Judicial District to conduct felony arraignments within statutory limits.
The local rules landing page is available from Barton County District Court local rules.
The assigned PDF capture failed in the image manifest, but this local rules landing page image preserves the official Barton County source context.
Barton County Appeals Path
Appeals from Barton County District Court move through the Kansas appellate system. The state court structure map identifies the Kansas Court of Appeals as the appellate court for this project, with Kansas Supreme Court review available in proper cases. A Barton County District Court record may show a notice of appeal, journal entry, bond or stay issue, and later appellate mandate or remand entry if the case returns to the trial court.
Federal court is separate. A federal criminal, civil rights, federal-question, diversity, bankruptcy, or habeas matter is not a Barton County District Court record. Those records use District of Kansas, bankruptcy court, Tenth Circuit, PACER, CM/ECF, or other federal systems. Barton County users should not search the local district court for a federal docket unless there is also a related state case.
Barton County District Court Access
Public district court records may be searched through Kansas CaseSearch or at courthouse public terminals. The Kansas Judicial Branch states that public court records are available at each courthouse and that each courthouse has a computer reserved for public searches of case information and court records. In Barton County, clerk counter access, copy questions, and certified copy requests route through the Clerk of the District Court in Suite 306.
Barton County District Court
1400 Main, Suite 306
Great Bend, KS 67530
620-793-1856
Fax: 620-793-1860
Martha.Rivas@kscourts.gov
Note: The manifest includes two failed District Court image entries, one for a PDF download and one for a 403-blocked Kansas court page, so only available assigned images were placed.