Johnson County could see caseload shifts for Superior Courts 1 and 2 next year, if amended local court rules go into effect.
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Two Johnson County courts could see a shift in caseloads next year.
Johnson Superior Courts 1 and 2 will see a shift in caseloads beginning in 2024, with Superior Court 1 set to hear criminal cases and Superior Court 2 set to hear civil cases. The change comes as Johnson Superior Court 1 Judge Kevin Barton prepares to retire at the end of the year after 24 years on the bench.
Court officials have been talking about doing a caseload reallocation for a few months, said Shena Johnson, courts administrator. With Barton’s retirement, Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent saw an opportunity to preside over different types of cases, she said.
“Judge Nugent is excited about the challenges a new caseload will bring,” Johnson said.
The shift also comes amid the Superior Court 1 seat being up for election this fall. Greenwood attorney Gloria Danielson, a Democrat, and Magistrate Judge Brandi Foster Kirkendall, a Republican, are vying for the seat.
With the shift, Superior Courts 1 and 2 will effectively switch the types of cases they hear. Starting Jan. 1, Superior Court 2 would hear probate and tax sale cases, while also splitting civil cases with Superior Court 4. Superior Court 1 would hear criminal cases, including felonies, which would be randomly and equally rotated between Superior Court 1, Circuit Court and Superior Court 3, and would also split some domestic relations cases with Circuit Court and Superior Court 4.
The case splits are already in effect for the courts that aren’t Superior Courts 1 and 2, with those courts trading off what case splits they currently hear, according to the county’s local court rules. The type of cases Circuit Court and Superior Courts 3 and 4 hear will not be affected by the shift, nor will the juvenile/family and magistrate courts, Johnson said.
Members of the public will be able to comment on the shift before it goes into effect. A red-lined version of the local court rules with the changes is planned to be published on the county’s website around Nov. 1, Johnson said.
This is the first major reallocation of caseloads for the county courts since 2015, when Superior Court 4 was established, Johnson said. The new court led to shifts of caseloads for Superior Courts 1, 2 and 3, according to archived reports.
