Clerk of the District Court FAQ

Deferment is not always a possibility, but we try to accommodate your busy schedules as much as we can. To request a deferment, you should complete the appropriate section of the juror questionnaire. You will receive a letter from the court with either your new service dates or a denial of your request within four weeks of making the request.

Yes, but the court requires a letter from your physician stating you should be excused.  For more information on what is needed and where to send it, please contact the Jury Coordinator at Jury@douglascountyks.org or 785-832-5213.

Jurors must be randomly selected and summoned to be able to serve on a jury. You cannot volunteer for service. In Douglas County, jurors are randomly selected from a list of people with Douglas County addresses provided by the Kansas DMV.

If you are charged with a misdemeanor traffic offense, you must appear in court. Seat belt violations do not require a court appearance, even though they are often marked as misdemeanors on the tickets. If you were charged with no proof of insurance, but you had insurance at the time of the stop, you should contact the DA's office at 785-832-5321 in advance of your court date to provide them with your insurance information. They will then let you know if you need to appear in court or not.

If all charges on your ticket are infractions, you are not required to appear in court provided you plead guilty or no contest and pay the fine and costs by the date indicated on your ticket. If you wish to contest the charge, you must appear and plead not guilty. A trial date will then be set.

Yes. The "court costs" in traffic cases are actually docket fees that must be paid whether or not you appear in court. Docket fees are used to defray the expenses of processing a court case from beginning to end.

Cases will usually be heard by juries of six or twelve jurors. A larger group, called a panel, will be sent to the courtroom where the jurors will be questioned by the lawyers in a process called Voir Dire (jury selection). During Voir Dire, attorneys will take turns asking the jury panel questions.  During the questioning, jurors may be excused from the panel if both sides agree that a juror may not be a good fit for the trial, whether for biases, hardships, or other reasons.  After Voir Dire is completed, each side takes turns removing jurors from the panel until they reach the desired number.  The remaining jurors will be sworn in and go on to serve as the jurors for the remainder of the trial.  If you have any questions about the process, please contact the Jury Coordinator at Jury@douglascountyks.org or at 785-832-5213.

You should fill out the Notice to Defendant (Earnings or Non-earnings) that accompanies the Order of Garnishment sent to your employer and/or bank and file it in the District Court division your case is assigned to. If you did not receive the Notice to Defendant from your employer or your bank, you should contact the plaintiff's attorney to obtain one. Once the Notice to Defendant is filed, a judge will determine if a hearing date should be set. You may want to consult an attorney on how to contest a garnishment. 

You may appear in court at the time specified on your ticket to request additional time to pay. Be sure to bring your copy of the ticket to court with you. If you fail to pay in full or appear in court by the date specified on your ticket, the court will send a letter to the address listed on your ticket informing you that you must pay in full within 30 days to avoid suspension of your driving privileges.

If you are charged with a misdemeanor you must appear in court on the date specified on your ticket, but you will not necessarily have to pay anything on that date.

Small claims cases are filed in the Clerk's office, using forms available in the lobby and online at Small Claims. An instruction booklet, which details filing and post-judgment procedures, can be obtained in the Clerk's office. The maximum dollar value that can be requested in a small claims case is $4000, and the amount of the filing fee depends on the amount of damages for which you are suing. For damages up to $500, the filing fee is $49. For damages of $500.01 - $4000, the filing fee is $69. You must also provide a sheriff's service fee, which is a separate payment of $5 for each address to be served.

You must contact the Office of Vital Statistics at 785-296-1400 or visit the 'Office of Vital Statistics' website at http://www.kdhe.state.ks.us/vital/. For information on acquiring a new marriage license, visit the Marriage and Divorce page.

For abuse occurring between intimate partners or household members, a restraining order may be obtained by filing a Protection from Abuse (PFA) case. The Clerk's office provides the forms and an instruction booklet for filing a PFA.

For protection from stalking, a restraining order may be obtained by filing a Protection from Stalking (PFS) case. The Clerk's office provides forms for filing a PFS.

Obtaining a restraining order for reasons other than abuse or stalking must be done through a separate civil action. You may want to consult an attorney to obtain a restraining order in these cases, because the Clerk's office does not provide forms or an instruction booklet. 

Criminal records go back to 1989, and civil records go back to 1992. 

Please call 785-832-5256 and press 1, then listen for the instructions to reach the person who handles the type of case you have. Please leave a message if you get voice mail; someone will return your call. 

In Douglas County, jurors 70 and over can opt to be permanently excused from Jury Service if they do not wish to serve.  If you receive a Juror Summons and will be over the age of 70 by the time your Jury Service is set to begin, you can request an excusal by either completing your Juror Questionnaire and requesting excusal for age, or by contacting the Jury Coordinator at jury@douglascountyks.org or by calling 785-832-5213.

Please contact the jury coordinator immediately at 785-832-5213 or jury@douglascountyks.org for options to avoid potentially being held in contempt of court.

Generally, no. If you believe it will cause hardship to appear on the date on your ticket, you may file a written request for continuance with the court at least three days prior to the date you are scheduled to appear.

If you have a Kansas driver's license and were charged with, or convicted of infractions, you will have to pay the total amount that you owe, plus a reinstatement fee of $81.00 per charge on the original ticket. Payment must be in cash, money order, cashier's check or credit card for these costs. The court clerk's office will notify Driver Control once you have met all your obligations and your license will be reinstated. Driver Control will notify you by mail upon reinstatement. This may take a few days, but you can call Driver Control at 785-296-3671 to check on the status of your license.

If you have an out of state license, the process is similar, but you do not pay a reinstatement fee to the court. Once you have paid your fines and court costs, you will need to request a notice of reinstatement and a receipt from the Clerk. You will then need to send the notice to the driver's licensing department in your home state. Your home state will usually charge a reinstatement fee.

If you were suspended for failing to appear in court, you must request a court date and appear in court. You will not be reinstated until the charges have been resolved, and you will be assessed an $81.00 reinstatement fee per charge in addition to any fines and costs assessed upon conviction or dismissal.

You will be notified if your request has been granted or denied by email, as well as a letter in the mail. You may contact the Jury Coordinator at Jury@douglascountyks.org or 785-832-5213 if you have not heard from the court within four weeks after making the request. You must report if you have not received a response to your request to be excused or deferred. Failure to report for jury duty can result in your being found in contempt of court.

If you are charged with a misdemeanor, the judge may issue a bench warrant for your arrest. You would then need to contact the Sheriff's department at 785-832-5368 to find out how to take care of the warrant.

If you are charged with an infraction, the court will send a letter to the address listed on your ticket informing you that you must pay in full within 30 days to avoid suspension of your driving privileges.

Not necessarily. More jurors are summoned than are actually needed. Not all jurors will sit on a panel. Through the questioning process called Voir Dire, a certain number of people on the panel will be struck to reach the six or twelve person jury.

If you were chosen as a juror and served for the full duration of the trial, you will not be required to appear for another trial during your service period.  If you went through Jury Selection and you were NOT selected as a sworn juror, you may still be required to appear for another trial during your service period.

Yes.  Your address and phone number are only viewed by the jury coordinator and judge.  Other information on your Juror Questionnaire may be shared with the attorneys if you are chosen as a potential juror for a trial.

Smoking is not permitted inside the Judicial & Law Enforcement Center. There are designated smoking areas outside.

Please follow this link for more information: http://www.kansasjudicialcouncil.org/legal-forms/guardianship-conservatorship

Jurors must:

• Be a citizen of the United States
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Reside in the county of jury service
• Be of sound mind
• Understand English

You cannot serve on a jury if:

• You have been convicted of a felony in the last ten years.

Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Yes. To be eligible for jury duty in Douglas County you only need to have residency in Douglas County for twenty days. If you register to vote in this county or have gotten a Douglas County driver's license you are entered into our system of potential jurors.

Being enrolled in college does not automatically excuse you from serving on a jury in Douglas County.  If you are summoned for Jury Duty during your school year, you may fill out your Juror Questionnaire to see what dates are available to defer your service to. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Jury Coordinator at jury@douglascountyks.org or 785-832-5213.

If you receive a Juror Summons for yourself and it has the wrong address, please follow the instructions on the summons on how to fill out a Juror Questionnaire.  On the questionnaire, please be sure to update your listed address to your current residency.  If you are no longer a resident of Douglas County, as long as you provide your current address on the questionnaire, you will be excused from your Douglas County Jury Duty once it’s submitted and reviewed.  If you have any questions, please contact the Jury Coordinator at Jury@douglascountyks.org or at 785-832-5213.

The juror information line will tell you if you need to report.

The court can provide you with proof of your Jury Service the day you arrive at court if you are summoned to appear.  For more information, please contact the Jury Coordinator at Jury@douglascountyks.org or 785-832-5213.

Voir dire is the process used by the parties to select a fair and impartial jury. During voir dire, the jury panel is questioned by both parties' lawyers. The questions are intended to help the lawyers in the jury selection process. After voir dire, the jury is selected from the panel.

Your bond will be returned to you within 24-48 hours after the judge releases it. If you wish to pick your check up, you should make arrangements by calling the Accounting Technician at 785-832-5252.

When the Clerk's office is closed (that is, weekdays before 8:00 a.m., after 4:00 p.m. and between noon and 1 p.m., in addition to weekends and holidays), you can mail payments to Clerk of the District Court, 111 E. 11th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044. Checks or money orders only. Online payments are not available at this time.

For tickets issued by the Highway Patrol, Sheriff's department, and Fish & Game officers, you must pay the ticket in the District Court Clerk's office. For tickets issued by Lawrence Police and Kansas University Police, you must contact the Municipal Court at 785-832-6190 or visit the Lawrence Municipal Court website.

For traffic cases, you will appear first in the Pro Tem Hearing Room. It is the first courtroom on the right side of the hall on the 1st floor. The Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is located at 111 E. 11th St. in Lawrence. Your name may or may not be on the list posted on the courtroom door, but you may appear in court in either case.

The number of jurors is determined by the level of the incident or crime.

Most trials in Douglas County are not sequestered jury trials. In fact, we have not had a sequestered jury trial in the last twenty years.

If there is a possibility that you will be sentenced to serve time in jail if convicted, the court may appoint an attorney to represent you if you meet certain guidelines. Applications for appointment of an attorney are available in the court clerk's office, or you can request an attorney at your first appearance.