The Kansas City, Kansas, Municipal Court will resume in-person court hearings on June 15, according to a news release from the Unified Government.
All court hearings will be by appointment only, and dockets will be limited in size to comply with the safety guidelines issued by the Wyandotte County health officer, according to a spokesman. The court will also begin setting appointments for limited in-person customer service on the same date.
Court cases previously scheduled during the shutdown will be slowly rescheduled for a new appointment date. Defendants, victims and witnesses will be notified individually.
“The Court has made decisions regarding how and when to reopen with the priority given to the safety of our citizens and employees. To do this, we will be measured and strategic in scheduling court cases, probation check-ins and customer service,” said Crystal Sprague, court administrator, in the news release. “Because we recognize that this approach could cause some delay for citizens, we have launched remote hearings and increased online services. We hope that instead of waiting or coming up to City Hall, folks will explore doing business remotely and call us for help.”
Citizens should be prepared before they report for a scheduled appointment.
Any citizen entering the City Hall Building will be subject to COVID-19 symptom and temperature screening. Everyone will be required to wear a face covering to enter the City Hall Building and during interactions with Municipal Court staff. The court’s activities will be conducted to comply with social distancing rules. Municipal Court staff is required to wear face coverings and practice social distancing.
If you do not have an appointment, call before you make the trip to City Hall to ensure you will be seen, a spokesman stated.
Several services provide access to the court remotely and when possible, you should use these methods to prevent having to come into the office, according to the spokesman.
These services include paying a ticket, applying for traffic diversion, requesting a remote hearing, checking your court date, updating your contact information, providing a document, requesting certified court records, requesting assistance with a suspended driver’s license, and requesting one-on-one customer support by phone or email. To contact Municipal Court, email [email protected] or call 913-573-5200.
“The health and safety of our citizens and staff is our number one priority. We are fortunate to have the technology to offer many services by phone, video, or online while we are closed and look forward to building new relationships with our customers through this technology,” Judge Brandelyn Nichols-Brajkovic, administrative judge, said in the news release. “We plan to keep many of these new options after COVID-19 in order to add ease and convenience in accessing our court. We hope that our new options help ease some stress during an already stressful time.”
To contact Municipal Court, email [email protected] or call 913-573-5200. To learn more about Municipal Court services, visit wycokck.org/Municipal. To learn more about the county’s COVID-19 response, visit wycokck.org/COVID-19.