Locate Rooks County District Court

Rooks County District Court Overview

Kansas District Courts are the principal trial courts. In Rooks County, District Court handles felony criminal cases, major civil cases, domestic relations, probate, juvenile matters where allowed by law, protection orders, District Court traffic, limited actions, small claims, and other state trial-court filings. The local court sits in the Rooks County Courthouse in Stockton and is part of the 23rd Judicial District with Ellis, Gove, and Trego counties.

The 23rd Judicial District Rooks page identifies the court's local staff and judicial roster. It lists Chief District Judge Curtis Brown, District Judge Thomas Drees, Magistrate Judge Douglas Bigge, Clerk of the District Court I Lindsey Mongeau, Trial Court Clerk II Jamie White, Court Administrator Mike Smith, Court Reporter Lynelle Gottschalk, administrative assistants Sandy Scheck and Jessica Hileman, Chief Court Services Officer Teresa Greenwood, and Community Corrections Director Erin Geist. Those names come from official district research and should not be expanded beyond the listed roles.

Rooks County District Court Contact

Rooks County has one local District Court office for the county-level state trial court. The research does not identify a set of numbered district courts in Rooks County. Because Kansas uses District Court as the trial court level, the table lists the local court and related 23rd Judicial District offices that appear in the researched court hierarchy. Municipal courts are listed separately because they are lower city courts, not divisions of Rooks County District Court.

District Court vs Municipal Court

Rooks County District Court and municipal courts serve different roles. District Court is the state trial court for county case records. Municipal courts handle city ordinance violations and city traffic matters. Stockton and Plainville have official municipal court references in the research. No official online municipal case search was located for those city courts, so municipal record questions may require direct city contact.

Rooks County Case Flow

A Rooks County District Court case moves by venue and case type. Public records may show filing dates, pleadings, hearings, docket entries, orders, financial entries, disposition, and appeal activity. Municipal traffic and ordinance matters may not appear the same way as District Court cases. Federal cases tied to Rooks County are separate and use District of Kansas or PACER channels, not the county District Court clerk.

District Court flow: Filing or charge › clerk docketing › hearing or motion setting › judge order or disposition › post-judgment, supervision, payment, or appeal activity.

Municipal flow: citation or ordinance charge › municipal court setting › plea, payment, dismissal, or city court disposition › bench warrant or collection step if the person fails to appear or comply.

Appeal flow: Rooks County District Court › Kansas Court of Appeals in most cases › Kansas Supreme Court if review is granted or direct review applies.

Rooks County District Court Cases

The District Court case mix is broad because Kansas does not split Rooks County trial work into separate county courts, probate courts, or family courts. Civil court records can include petitions, answers, summons returns, motions, orders, judgments, garnishments, liens, executions, and satisfaction documents. Criminal court records can include complaints, appearances, bond orders, preliminary hearings, arraignments, pleas, motions, trial settings, verdicts, sentencing, probation orders, public warrants or returns, and financial obligations.

Domestic records include divorce and paternity cases, post-decree motions, parenting plans, support orders, and related financial filings. Probate records include estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, determinations of descent, and final accountings. Traffic records may be in District Court when filed there, but city traffic can sit with Stockton or Plainville Municipal Court. Juvenile, adoption, mental-health, and protected-person records may be restricted or confidential.

• Civil and limited action cases for claims, judgments, liens, garnishments, and small claims.
• Criminal cases for filed charges, hearings, pleas, dispositions, sentencing, and probation-related entries.
• Domestic cases for divorce, paternity, child support, parenting, and post-decree motions.
• Probate cases for estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, and related proceedings.
• Traffic cases filed in District Court, separate from municipal traffic cases handled by city courts.

Rooks County Judicial District

Rooks County is in Kansas's 23rd Judicial District. The same district includes Ellis, Gove, Rooks, and Trego counties. The 23rd Judicial District site lists Ellis County District Court at 107 W 12 Street in Hays, Gove County District Court at 420 Broad Street in Gove, Rooks County District Court at 115 N Walnut Street in Stockton, and Trego County District Court at 216 N Main Street in WaKeeney. District administration is based in Hays.

This regional district structure matters for court services and administration. The research identifies 23rd Judicial District Court Services as supervising adult and juvenile offenders in Ellis, Rooks, Trego, and Gove counties. Community corrections and juvenile services are also district-area functions rather than separate Rooks County trial courts. A court record from a Rooks County case still belongs to Rooks County District Court, even when district-wide services are involved after disposition.

Rooks County Municipal Courts

Stockton and Plainville are the municipal court contacts identified in the research. Stockton's city code establishes a municipal court and includes provisions for the municipal judge, clerk, court costs, and debt collection. The Stockton city office page identifies Taylor Ghumm as Assistant City Clerk and Municipal Court Clerk at 115 S Walnut in Stockton, phone 785-425-6703. Plainville's official city clerk and finance page identifies Mandy Bice as Utility Billing and Municipal Court Clerk/Assistant City Clerk at 222 W Mill in Plainville, phone 785-434-2841.

Plainville's code states that Kansas municipal court procedure under K.S.A. 12-4101 et seq. governs municipal court cases and that municipal court is held in the municipal courtroom in city hall on days and hours designated by the municipal judge. These municipal courts are especially important for traffic records and bench warrants. A city bench warrant may not appear as a Rooks County District Court case in the same way that a state-filed criminal case does.

Rooks County Court Visit Details

The main courthouse for Rooks County court-record users is at 115 N Walnut St. in Stockton. The District Court phone is 785-425-6718, fax is 785-425-6568, and the clerk email is Rooks_County_Clerk@kscourts.gov. Public office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The district site notes that Friday e-filings continue to be processed until 5:00 p.m.

The courthouse is a four-story Classical Revival masonry building listed in the National Register research. It replaced an older 1881 stone courthouse and remains the county government center. The research also notes a south-side courthouse dropbox for official courthouse-office business from the Treasurer page, but use of that dropbox for court documents should be confirmed with the District Court clerk before relying on it.

Note: Call the District Court clerk before arrival if an accessible entrance, interpreter, or hearing accommodation needs confirmation.