"It shall be the continuous duty of the judicial council to survey and study the judicial branch of the state and recommend improvements in the administration of justice." K.S.A. 20-2203. This archive contains many of the studies and reports completed by the Judicial Council in recent years.

Note: To view and print some of these documents you need special software, available for free at Adobe Acrobat® Reader™.

2023

• Report of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Advisory Committee on 2023 H.B. 2380. (December 2023)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee regarding the Uniform Nonparent Custody and Visitation Act. (December 2023)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee regarding the Proposed Repeal of K.S.A. 59-505. (December 2023)
• Report of the Adoption Law Advisory Committee regarding Termination of Parental Rights Under K.S.A. 59-2136(d). (December 2023)

2022

• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee regarding the Kansas Protection Order Acts. (December 2022)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee regarding the Publication Notice and Hearing Dates in K.S.A. 59-2209. (December 2022)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee on 2022 S.B. 400 Provisions Relating to Trust Decanting and the Rule Against Perpetuities. (December 2022)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee regarding Dollar Amounts in the Probate Code. (December 2022)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee regarding the Uniform Trust Decanting Act. (December 2022)
• Report of the JO/CINC Advisory Committee on the Consideration of Attachment When Selecting an Adoptive Resource for a Child in the CINC System. (December 2022)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on No-Knock Warrants. (December 2022)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on Rebuttable Presumptions in Criminal Statutes. (December 2022)
• Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Adult Care Home Involuntary Transfer or Discharge Appeals Committee. (December 2022)
• Report of the Adoption Law Advisory Committee regarding Notice to Parents in Agency Adoptions. (December 2022)
• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee regarding the Time for a Defendant Served Outside the State to File a Responsive Pleading under the Code of Civil Procedure. (December 2022)

2021

• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on Automatic Expungement and 2021 H.B. 2226. (December 2021)
• Report of the JO/CINC Advisory Committee on Juvenile Expungement. (December 2021)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee regarding the Uniform Parentage Act (2017). (December 2021)

2020

• Final Report of the DUI Advisory Committee (December 2020)
• Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Sex Offenses and Registration (December 2020)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on Expungement and Unpaid Costs, Fees, Fines, and Restitution. (December 2020)
• Report of the Advisory Committee on 2020 H.B. 2600 on Contracts for Deed. (December 2020)
• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee on 2020 H.B. 2306 regarding the statute of limitations on civil actions for recovery of damages resulting from childhood sexual abuse. (December 2020)
• Report of the DUI Advisory Committee on Ignition Interlock and Motorized Bicycle Licenses. (January 2020)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee on the Termination of Parental Rights When a Child is Conceived by Sexual Assault. (January 2020)

2019

• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2019 S.B. 154 and 2019 S.B. 227 relating to human trafficking victims. (December 2019)
• Report of the JO/CINC Advisory Committee on Crossover Youth. (December 2019)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee on the Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (UFIPA). (December 2019)
• Report of the Advisory Committee on Disability Access regarding 2019 H.B. 2152 and the White Cane Law. (December 2019)
• Report of the Advisory Committee on Sex Offenses and Registration on 2018 H.B. 2738, 2018 H.B. 2739, 2018 S.B. 265, and drug offender registration requirements. (December 2019)
• Supplemental Report of the Advisory Committee on Sex Offenses and Registration on offender registration. (December 2019)
• Report of the Advisory Committee on Commitment of Incompetent Defendants Under K.S.A. 22-3303 regarding the statutes governing competency to stand trial. (December 2019)
• Report of the Advisory Committee on Evidence regarding amendments to the Kansas rules of evidence. (December 2019)

2018

• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2018 H.B. 2571 and 2018 S.B. 360 relating to the disclosure of criminal investigation records, including body and vehicle recordings, under the Kansas Open Records Act. (December 2018)
• Report of the JO/CINC Advisory Committee on 2018 H.B. 2751 establishing the office of the child advocate. (December 2018)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee on 2018 H.B. 2529 and 2018 S.B. 257 relating to a presumption to equal parenting time. (December 2018)
• Report of Advisory Committee on Judicial Residency regarding the residency requirements for judges. (December 2018)
• Report of Probate Law Advisory Committee on 2017 H.B. 2350 regarding the spousal elective share. (December 2018)

2017

• Report of the Advisory Committee on 2016 HB 2639 relating to enacting the Emergency Observation and Treatment Act. (January 2017)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2016 HB 2593 regarding the recording of custodial interrogations. (January 2017)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2016 HB 2465 regarding the standards for competency to stand trial in K.S.A. 22-3301. (January 2017)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2017 H.B. 2352 regarding the admissibility of certain misdemeanor juvenile adjudications for the purpose of impeachment of a witness. (October 2017)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2017 H.B. 2070 and 2017 H.B. 2070 as amended, which proposed to protect certain records received or maintained by the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training from disclosure under the Kansas Open Records Act. (December 2017)
• Report of the Juvenile Offender/Child in Need of Care Advisory Committee regarding juvenile crisis intervention. (December 2017)
• Report of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Advisory Committee regarding civil asset forfeiture. (December 2017)

2016

• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee regarding 2015 and 2016 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (December 2016)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee on 2016 SB 393 relating to K.S.A. 23-3203 and the consideration of domestic abuse when determining custody, residency, and parenting time. (December 2016)
• Report of the Advisory Committee on K.S.A. 59-29a11 regarding residency restrictions for sexually violent predators on transitional or conditional release. (December 2016)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee on the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. (June and December 2016)

2015

• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2015 HB 2289 relating to the administrative hearing process for drivers license suspensions (December 2015)
• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee on 2015 SB 16 relating to the award of attorney fees in certain actions against insurance companies (December 2015)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2015 Substitute for SB 18 relating to police body cameras (December 2015)
• Report of the Juvenile Offender/Child in Need of Care Advisory Committee on 2015 SB 159, which would enact the Safe Families Act (December 2015)
• Report of the Open Records Advisory Committee on 2015 SB 306 and 2015 SB 307 relating to the application of the Kansas Open Records Act to emails concerning public business sent by public officials from private email accounts (December 2015)
• Joint Report of the Civil Code and Criminal Law Advisory Committees on 2015 HB 2114 relating to subpoenas of nonparty business records under K.S.A. 60-245a (December 2015)
• Joint Report of the Civil Code and Criminal Law Advisory Committees on 2015 HB 2302, which would enact the Kansas right to financial privacy act (December 2015)

2014

• Report of the Death Penalty Advisory Committee on the costs of death penalty litigation in Kansas (February 2014)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2014 HB 2712 relating to amendments to the domestic battery statute (December 2014)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee on 2014 SB 355 relating to the Kansas Power of Attorney Act (December 2014)
• Report of the Scrap Metal Theft Advisory Committee on 2014 SB 418 (December 2014)
• Report of the Juvenile Offender / Child in Need of Care Committee on 2014 Substitute for SB 394 relating to legal rights of foster parents (November 2014)

2013

• Report of the Administrative Procedure Advisory Committee on the appropriate role of non-attorney tax consultants in proceedings before the Kansas Court of Tax Appeals (December 2013)
• Report of the Child Death Review Board Advisory Committee on 2013 SB 77 (December 2013)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on prepaid mobile device registration (December 2013)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2013 SB 66 (December 2013)
• Report of the Agricultural Corporations Advisory Committee on Kansas agricultural corporations statutes (December 2013)

2012

• Report of the Antitrust Advisory Committee regarding the rule of reason in interpretation of the Kansas Restraint of Trade Act (December 2012)
• Report of the Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee on restyling of District Court Rules and Appellate Court Rules (May 2012)

2011

2010

• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on a proposal to remove felony murder from the first degree murder statute and place it in its own statute (December 2010)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2010 HB 2502 proposing a Child Witness Protection Act (December 2010)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee on 2010 SB 522 relating to step-parent adoptions (December 2010)
• Report of the Juvenile Offender / Child in Need of Care Advisory Committee on 2010 HB 2603 relating to expungement of juvenile records (December 2010)
• Report of the Lien Law Advisory Committee on 2010 SB 469 (December 2010)
• Report of the Probate Law Advisory Committee and Family Law Advisory Committee on a proposal to abolish common law marriage (December 2010)
• Report of the Probate Advisory Committee on 2010 HB 2514 relating to trusts (December 2010)
• Report of the Probate Advisory Committee on 2010 HB 2568 relating to durable powers of attorney (December 2010)
• Report of the Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee on a proposal to eliminate local court rules (December 2010)

2009

• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee proposing 2010 HB 2656 - A bill based on the extensive set of “style” revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that became effective 12/01/07 (December 2009)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee proposing 2010 HB 2452 - A bill pertaining to the evaluation at sentencing of a defendant's ability to pay costs and fees (December 2009)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee proposing 2010 HB 2667 - A bill recodifying domestic relations statutes into one chapter of the Kansas statutes. See the proposed legislation (December 2009)
• Report of the Guardianship and Conservatorship Advisory Committee proposing 2010 HB 2532 - A bill proposing amendments to the Care and Treatment Act for Mentally Ill Persons, the Care and Treatment Act for Persons with an Alcohol or Substance Abuse Problem, and the Kansas Sexually Violent Predator Act relating to quarantine of individuals to prevent spread of communicable disease (December 2009)
• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee on 2009 SB 32 which would prohibit a court from admitting expressions of apology, fault or sympathy made by a health care provider as evidence of an admission of liability (December 2009)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2009 HB 2335 relating to a "domestic violence tag" to be incorporated into one's criminal history for tracking purposes (December 2009)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2009 HB 2204 relating to public release of probable cause warrants (December 2009)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2009 SB 272 relating to the involuntary commitment of incompetent defendants (December 2009)
• Report of the Death Penalty Advisory Committee on 2009 SB 208 which would abolish the death penalty in Kansas (December 2009) The proposed re-draft of the bill 2010 SB 375 did not pass.
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee on 2009 SB 27 relating to presumption of paternity (December 2009)
• Report of the Family Law Advisory Committee on adoption of the 2001 or 2008 version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) (December 2009)
• Report of the Guardianship and Conservatorship Advisory Committee on 2009 SB 235 relating to the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (December 2009)
• Report of the Homeowner's Association Advisory Committee on 2009 HB 2253 which relates to homeowners' associations and apartment owners (December 2009)
• Report of the Juvenile Offender/Child in Need of Care Advisory Committee on 2009 HB 2208 which would require that all child in need of care reports be forwarded to the County or District Attorney's office (December 2009)

2007

• Report of the Appeals from Termination of Parental Rights Advisory Committee. (November 2007)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2007 HB 2473 (currently 2008 SB 2850) relating to stalking. (November 2007)
• Report of the Juvenile Offender/Child in Need of Care Advisory Committee on proposed amendments to the Revised Codes. (January 2008)
• Report of the Administrative Procedure Advisory Committee to the Special Committee on Judiciary, relating to separation of functions, ex parte communications and standard of proof in revocation of licenses. (November 2007)
• Report of the Guardianship and Conservatorship Advisory Committee on 2005 HB 240 (currently 2008 HB 2644) relating to the appointment of guardians and conservators. (November 2007)
• Report of the Probate Law Committee on 2007 SB 32 (currently 2008 SB 412) relating to medicaid reimbursement. (November 2007)

2006

• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee on K.S.A. 40-256
  and 40-908, relating to attorney’s fees in insurance cases. (February 2006)
• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee on Kuhn v. Sandoz,
  relating to “pure opinion testimony” and the Frye test.
  (February 2006)
• Report of the Probate Law Committee on the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) including Kansas comments. (October 2006)

2005

• Report of the Judicial Performance Advisory Committee. (December 2005)
• Report of the Civil Code Advisory Committee on 2005 SB 53, relating to expert and opinion testimony. (December 2005)
• Report of the HB 2307 Advisory Committee on end of life decisions for wards. (December 2005)
• Report of the Guardianship and Conservatorship Advisory
  Committee on conflicts of interest between guardians and wards. (December 2005)
• Report of the Criminal Law Advisory Committee on 2005 HB 2062. (December 2005)

2004

• Report of the Death Penalty Advisory Committee. (November 2004)
• Report of the Death Penalty Advisory Committee. (January 2004)
• Revised Kansas Code for Care of Children (with comments) and Enrolled Copy of 2005 HB 2352 (November 2004)
• Revised Kansas Juvenile Justice Code (with comments) and Enrolled Copy of 2005 SB 261 (October 2004)

2003

• Report of the Press Shield Advisory Committee. (2003)

2002

• Comments to the 2002 Uniform Trust Code. (2002)

2001

• Report on the State's Obligation to Provide Legal Services for Prisoners. (2001) (Attachments available by contacting the Judicial Council.)
• Report of the Guardian Ad Litem Committee 2001 and the Appendix.

2000

• Report of the Court of Appeals Jurisdiction Committee. (2000)

1999

• Study of reasons why children are removed from their homes. (1999)
• Study of child abuse and abuse of dependent adults. (1999)

1991

• Comments to 1991 SB 358 (amending the criminal code).

1990

• Comments to 1990 Adoption and Relinquishment Act.

Codes and Acts

The Judicial Council has drafted the following codes and acts: Probate Code, Civil Code, Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, Code for Care of Children, Juvenile Offenders Code, Administrative Procedure Act, Act for Judicial Review of Agency Actions, Municipal Court Code, Care and Treatment Act for Mentally Ill Persons, Care and Treatment Act for Persons with an Alcohol or Substance Abuse Problem, Guardianship and Conservatorship Act, Kansas False Claims Act, Kansas Uniform Trust Code, Parentage Act, Revised Divorce Code, Simplified Administration Act, Informal Administration Act, Adoption and Relinquishment Act, Protection from Abuse Act, Code of Procedure for Limited Actions, and the Kansas Power of Attorney Act.

Court Rules

The Council has drafted and recommended numerous court rules, examples are: Uniform District Court Rules, Rules for Appellate Procedure (Drafted upon creation of the Court of Appeals), rules relating to continuing legal education, rules relating to destruction of court records, rules for admission, discipline and disbarment of attorneys, rules relating to divorce mediation, rules relating to docketing statements, rules relating to pleading liquidated damages, rules relating to facsimile filings, rule relating to electronic filing, rule relating to civil forfeiture, and rules relating to guardians ad litem.

Publications

The Judicial Council has published a great deal of material for use by the bench and bar. The Kansas Judicial Council Bulletin has contained probate forms, care and treatment forms, guardianship and conservatorship forms, articles on homestead, quiet title, legislation, statistics and articles by Kansas Bar Association presidents on subjects of their own choosing. The Council has also published the Kansas Benchbook, three editions of PIK-Criminal, four editions of PIK-Civil, two editions of Kansas Municipal Court Manual, two editions of the Kansas Judicial Council Probate Forms, one edition (4th) of the Kansas Appellate Practice Handbook and numerous supplements to these books.

Studies

The Council has conducted numerous studies over the years. Examples are: advisability of construction of a new supreme court building; judicial redistricting (three times); court unification; statewide delivery of legal services to indigent persons; gathering court statistics; sentencing; grand juries; need for expansion of court of appeals; government immunity; comparative fault; discovery; mortgage redemption; prejudgment interest; deadly force; strip searches; garnishment; six-person juries; frivolous claims and defenses; multi-district litigation; forum non conveniens; plea bargaining; sentencing guidelines; changing associate district judges to district judges; collateral source rule; less than unanimous jury verdicts; professional malpractice screening panels; surrogate motherhood; service of process by mail; the Uniform Marital Property Act; the Uniform Probate Code; and the Uniform Trust Code.