Kansas Judicial Branch restores public access portal

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The Kansas Judicial Branch has restored the public access portal.

Kansas Judicial Branch officials said the portal that allows anyone anywhere to search Kansas district court cases over the internet is back online, but its information is temporarily out of date while courts work to input case information filed on paper.

Officials indicated the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is one of several information systems that was temporarily incapacitated by an Oct. 12 cyberattack. Also impacted was the Kansas eCourt case management system that district courts use to process cases.

Kansas courts officials said most public information from the case management system is available by searching the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal. The public portal also allows court users to pay fines, fees and costs online.

“In the short time we’ve offered free online case search for district courts as part of our Kansas eCourt modernization plan, it has become our most popular service,” Chief Justice Marla Luckert said. “Restoring the ability to search case information online is yet another major milestone in our restoration plan.”

Kansas Judicial Branch officials indicated the case information through the portal is temporarily out of date.

Branch officials said district courts are working to digitize case information recorded on paper to add it to the case management system. Case events and case documents processed after the October 12 security incident may not show up in search, at least initially.

Officials said to visit Search District Court Records for more information about the portal, what case information is available through it, and instructions for using it.

Kansas Judicial Branch officials said online payments have been restored.

Branch officials indicated another feature of the Kansas District Court Public Access Portal allows people to pay fines, fees and costs online. That service is also restored, but information about recent payments and related cases data may be out of date.

Officials said payments processed Oct. 12 and after may not appear in the payment portal. The Central Payment Center in the Office of Judicial Administration is logging payments made since Oct.12 as quickly as possible.

Officials indicated to visit Pay a Fine or Fee for more information about making payments to courts.

The Kansas eCourt case management system restoration is nearly complete.

Kansas Judicial Branch officials said Courts in 102 of Kansas’ 105 counties representing 29 of the state’s 31 judicial districts have had their access to the Kansas eCourt case management system restored. Visit Status of District Court Restoration for a full list. 

Officials indicated Johnson County District Court currently operates on a standalone case management system. It will join other district courts on the Kansas eCourt case management system sometime in 2024.

Kansas Judicial Branch shared district court hours of operation.

Officials indicated as courts regained access to the case management system, they began the process of bringing the information up to date. Some court clerk offices have temporarily modified office hours to give staff uninterrupted time to focus on entering case events and adding documents to the case management system.

Branch officials said a person who has business with a court clerk office is advised to check the district court’s website or call the court clerk office to verify their current hours of operation. Modified clerk office hours do not affect scheduled court appearances.

Judicial Branch officials shared information about Kansas courts eFiling.

Officials said the Kansas Courts eFiling system used by attorneys to electronically file documents in district courts is expected to be available sometime after the first of the year.

Kansas Judicial Branch officials shared information about appellate information systems.

Judicial Branch officials indicated the eFiling and case management systems used by the Kansas Supreme Court and the Kansas Court of Appeals will be brought back online after district court systems. The Office of Judicial Administration will share a timeline as work advances.

Kansas Judicial Branch officials noted updates on the cyberattack and efforts to restore court information systems are on the Court Systems Security Incident webpage.

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